Biscuit makers plead hardship

Press, 21 April 1977, Page 7

Biscuit makers plead hardship

PA Wellington. New Zealand biscuit manufacturers have described the boycott of their products by housewives as “unrealistic.” “Until recently, chocolate biscuits had not been increased in price for nearly a year, ” said a spokesman for the Biscuit Manufacturers’ Association.

Yet in that time almost every cost involved in manufacturing and distributing biscuits to the public had increased substantially, he said. “Flour, butter and other fats, wrapping materials, rail costs, electricity charges, two general wage orders, an award increase for employees, the final two steps of equal pay ... all have risen.”

The biggest cost increase had been in cocoa beans — the main ingredient of chocolate. “Between May last year and March this year the cost rose from $l7OO to

$3OOO per ton — a rise of nearly 100 per cent. Today, the cost is running at $4500 a ton — a far cry from the $2OO a ton paid 12 years ago. “The boycott of biscuits would not result in any reduction in manufacturers’ prices, which were determined by the costs they had to pay, and these costs were thoroughly checked by the Price Control Division of the Department of Trade and Industry,” said the spokesman.