"IT WOULD BE LUNACY"

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 123, 20 November 1926, Page 10

"IT WOULD BE LUNACY"

PRICE-FIXATION MODIFIED COMPULSION IN APPLE EXPORT GROWERS' VOLUNTARY POOLSNO LOCAL AGENTS. While Colonel Gray, chairman of the New Zealand Fruit. Producers' Board, advocates a certain measure of control, including compulsion where required, and including the cutting out of the New Zealand agents of London importers of fruit, he is also reported as saying: "Any attempt to fix' prices would be lunacy, and any attempt to nurse the market would be equal lunacy."

The New Zealand agent, the London wholesaler, and the London retailer flit to and fro across the columns that Colonel Gray's reports had filled in the provincial newspapers. Here are some excerpts: — ONLY ONE SELLER. Only one seller was wanted at Homo —the rest should be distributors. That theory had been questioned on the clap-trap slogan that competition was good for trade. "But the kind, of competition that we get is not the kind , of competition that is good for trade. Competition among wholesale firms trying to get fruit to. sell does not mean a corresponding competition among buyers to buy. They are not going to be galvanised into buying just because there is competition among wholesalers. The wholesalers' purpose is to get turnover —they have no other purpose on earth. It is primarily and fundamentally to get turnover. lam not throwing stones; many of them are good friends of s ours. But that is the case as i see it.". fi.t to the retailer:. When they came to the retailer they.were,up against a big proposition. There was ,an immense amount of over-charging. .Waste was alleged to be the cause. . But there was 'a tendency,for him to buy faulty fruit cheap and then put the price up so high as to restrict buying. If they complained too much, he could simply pass your fruit by. If there was anyone making money out of the.fruit it was the retailer and not tho wholesaler. But the retailer, primarily, was selling something-bought and paid for, and which was his own property. I The New Zealand agent: The local agents had to go. That meant compensating some of them. Quite a number of self-appointed agents, came into existence last year. The . older ones would be compensated.; When he (Colonel Gray) was at Home, certain firms stipulated that their agents be compensated, and he must accept responsibility of arrangement for compensating them. He could not help admiring the • firms which stuck out for compensation 'tor their agents, instead, of throwing them over without a thought. The local agent had to go, as New Zealand had a central body able to provide the fruit. In their ; endeavour to work down the consolidated charge, New Zealand had to show that it was saving the man at Home something by simplifying his work. . LIST OF SELECTED FIRMS. i From other passages, in the reports it seems that Colonel Gray while at Home tentatively drew up . a list of firms selected for the handling of New Zealand apples and pears, and that the American apple competition was a factor in making the selection. He is reported as saying:—American competition was increasing at so rapid a rate that everything possible would have to be done to meet it. The most sinister thing about American competition was that a large section of the English fruit trade was., involved. "We should work with a definitely accredited band of agents. We send one-fifth of the quantity Australia and Tasmania send. 'If New Zealand could give fairly regular supply to a certain number it would give them something tangible and these firms would stand by New Zealand." The firms he had selected dealt only lightly with American fruit. Firms which had been receiving our fruit in the past were included, except for one or two possible exceptions. As far as possible all fruit would be sent to the firmssselected. If the majority of growers ■ wanted pooling1, the board would put it across. Ho desired growers to work together ■in groups and send big lines to simplify matters, instead of having a great variety of marks. He was trying to evolve something to meet the competition they would have to meet in the future. They sent only: a small quantity of fruit, and it would be a stronger instrument if they could combine it and work in long, lines and few. sizes. It was almost impossible for any grower to make a name for his number on the English market. The only time when it came under notice was when fruit was particularly bad.