$1 a dozen fair, says Chch oyster firm

Press, 20 March 1978, Page 1

$1 a dozen fair, says Chch oyster firm

A Christchurch-based oyster company with two boats working out of Bluff and with about 40 retail outlets, considers that $1 a dozen for raw oysters is a “very fair price taking into account inflation and increased costs — but with a very fair return.” This compares with price variations of between $1.20 to $1.30 at most Canterbury fish retailers and is cheaper than many retail outlets in Bluff and Invercargill. The company, Fisheries South Island, Ltd, has battled for 11 years to be able to receive sacked oysters in shells rather than processed in cans from factories in Southland and Dunedin. The battle included obtaining two licences to be able to run two boats in the fleet of 23 at Bluff and to bring the oysters direct to Christchurch by overnight road transport. Independence of the consortium sources in the industry had enabled the company to keep oysters

at a realistic price, said the company’s managing director (Mr B. R. Walker). The company has 22 shareholders representing the 40 retail outlets and the quantity of oysters can only cover the requirements of the shareholders.

Mr Walker was unhappy about a background story in "The Press” last Friday and said he was prompted to make certain information available because of this. ‘‘Your information would tend to drive people away from buying oysters and we will have the crayfish situation again where export prices will deprive the average New Zealander of the worldwide recognised unique flavour of the Foveaux Strait oyster.

"1 will admit that a lot of retailers have their prices governed by their source of supply and that high prices have been set in Christchurch,” he said. What is known as the

“oyster group” at Bluff consisting of most of the boat owners tried to set a policy that all oysters had to be opened in their factories and only supplied to the retailers in tins.

This deprived retailers of a chance to open their own oysters at a more reasonable cost and to check on quality. The Government has since brought in a regulation that all oyster boats have to be prepared to supply one-third of their catch to marketing sources in shells and delivered by the sack.

Mr Walker sees this as the only way that the shellfish will be saved the fate of crayfish so far as the average New Zealander is concerned. Does he see an export threat the way the industry is heading at the present time? “I hope not. The Foveaux Strait oyster is something that should be kept for this country.”

He did admit to an incident when he was offered the equivalent of $3 a dozen when oysters were retailing in New Zealand at about 60c a dozen. Mr Walker, manager of the rowing team at the Mexico Olympics, also attended the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games and arranged for 150 dozen oysters to be flown to the George Hotel in that city for a function to celebrate Christchurch’s being granted the following Commonwealth Games.

After the oysters were opened, the chef in charge of the catering staff at the hotel immediately offered Mr Walker 30 shillings a dozen on the spot. “This is why I was concerned about the story last Friday because the end effect of your article would discourage people from buying oysters when the prices you quoted did not include the information that some outlets are still selling at $1 a dozen,” he said.