PRICE OF FRUIT

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 88, 13 April 1923, Page 11

PRICE OF FRUIT

THE RETAILERS' VIEW. 10 TOE EDITOR. Sir,— During the past couple of weeks I have seen several letters in your paper dealing with the subject of fruit. Now, Sir, I am a, fruiterer, and would crave space in your columns to reply to "A Lover of Fruit," who declares that the public never sea any sign of the glut of fruit reflected in the shops, and says the fruit shops ars charging 63 and 8d per pound for the better quality apples. If "Lover of Fruit" is alluding to Wellington, then I flatly deny the statement, for, go "where you will (excepting, of course, the three big city streets, where the rents are very high), you will find it possible to buy the very best of apples at 3d and 4d per pound lesser qualifies at 6 and 7 pound Is, Now, Sir. what can one want cheaper than that? I for one wouldV like to know what " Lover of Fruit " considers a fair price. I'll admit there is a glut of inferior apples, and very few choice, but most shopkeepers try to get the best, and are prepared to pay more to get them and retail them at a price on a pay with the inferior qualities. If only some of your correspondents could obtain a little insight into the inner workings of a fruit shop, I feel sure that, instead of branding us as profiteers, they would look upon us as the most benevolent class in New Zealand. They would come to see that very often we sell certain goods to the public at a big loss to ourselves. Just to mention 'a few items, such as carrots, parsnips, cauliflowers, and cabbages, which up to a week ago were realising prices that made it impossible for us to make a farthing profit. Then, again, take the krt shipment of bananas, for which we had to pay £1 3s per case for about. 16 dozen bananas. This means that they cost us Is 6d per dozen, including cartage, and now we have our labour, etc., and bags, yet in spite of that " Lover of Fruit " will bo able to buy bananas at any shop at. 8, 9, arid 10 for Is—not much profiteering in that. The peculiar nature of our business makes it necessary for us to tako big risks, so if we do make a little larger profit sometimes, surely we deserve it. We did not hear any growls last year when apples were realising from 16s to £1 per case, and we retailed them at 6d per pound, and even at that price we found a lot of rubbish in the cases. I have seen cabbages and cauliflowers marked choice, paid a good price for theim, and on turning them out found a sack of rubbish topped off with a few good ones. These are the things we have to contend with. The whole trouble is our market system; it's like a child buying a lucky packet; you're anxious to know wnat you have in the box or bag. Let's cut out our present system, let us have a municipal market conducted on similar lines to those in Sydney, and let the party be two—the grower and retailer. Then everyone will get a fair deal. Send a reporter round to some of the retailers and you will have the whole secret why fruit and vegetables are dear. Let the growers get into touch with us; don't bite and kick us, but get down to business, and find out where the trouble is. Then some day we.shall have our municipal markets, and the grower and retailer will work hand in hand for the mutual benefit of all.—l am, etc., , A RETAILER. Uth April.

TO THE EDITOE. Sir.—The articles in your issue of 9th inst. "have no donbt been read with much interest. I desire to draw attention to a- few phases of tho question which have not been touched on so far. It is freely admitted by all -parties that the grower does not get anything like sufficient (with auction prices ruling at from lid to 2d per lb, say 4a-to 6s 6d per case) to make a. liviner from appletrrowino;. What then is the remedy? One proposal is for the growers to combine and regulate the supplies to the markets, but this would have the effect of raising prices and thus lead to greatly decreased consumption, as the present shop prices, 4d and 6d, are already on the hiorh side for the average family.

• I nr.ffe that their efforts should rather be directed to obtain a fairer proportion" than they now obtain of the above prices of 4d to 6d per lb. The trouble is that though the price of apples in the auction rooms may be only 4s a case, the price in the chops is not correspondingly reduced, but remains at from 13s to ,£1 per case. In other words, the shopkeeper gets about 4d per It-for. liis turnover, whole the grower has to put /up ' with Id. If the shopkeepers sold at times of -"uuine "glut" at, 6ay, 2d to 3d per lb, the consumption would go up by leaps and bounds, and the market would thus adjust itself. The fact is there are far too many fruit shops in the city, and the extra rente thus payable are really a tax on the fruit industry and consumers. The unfortunate part is that the law of supply and demand is not allowed to apply here as the shops are almost entirely in the hands of the Chinese, who evidently have an understanding amongst themselves, as all charge the same prices. Otherwise there would be an elimination of unnecessary shops. The real remedy seems to be growers' retail depots, or better still, a municipal market, and I commend the latter proposal to all the candidates for municipal offices at the coming election. This would enable the public to secure ample supplies of not only apnles. but all fruits and vegetables at reasonable rates, which at the same time would afford a living to the growers.— I am, etc., APPLE-A-DAY. 11th April.