ONIONS, POTATOES, AND LIVING COSTS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 142, 17 June 1932, Page 6

ONIONS, POTATOES, AND LIVING COSTS

(To the Editor.)

Sir.—"Amazed" draws attention to the reported decided reduction of the cosY of jiving, 33 outlined vby Hr.- Forbes. Amazed" ■ rightly states that two staple lines of djet, onions and ■potatoes, -have advanced in price to' an '": outrageous exItent, the former brought abqut by prac* ticajly unprecedented shipments from Canterbury to Australia.: The:: Government could have seized; the ; 'opportunity oft imposing an export tax o'n.;these onions which would have in a. fairish amount, but neither the Department of industries and Commerce nor , theY Cub-: toms Department (who are- supposed to keep in touch with such matters)'-: has taken, this opportunity.. Your; correspondent rightly emphasises pur now having to import Japanese dnions costing al>out £17 per ton; "there is the sting." But why does not the Government, in its supposedly humane desire to assist to keep down the cost of living, reduce the duty from £4 18a per tori on onions from Japan to, say, 40s per ton until Canadian onions are able to be imported? The same remark applies in regard to a lower duty to apply to Californian onions. A lowered duty .as mentioned- by nic would have been compensated for in the matter of further income by an export tax on what onions \re have sent away. It is also very noticeable that New Zealand potatoes aie soaring in price.,

Why therefore should we not import Australian for a period, if there is a shortage as reported from certain parts of the South Island? One naturally wants our farmers to.receive a fair return, but there are other things to be taken into ■consideration during the crucial times we are passing through. The Government will be entirely lacking in its duties if it does not take up the matter of looking into the question of 'both onions and potatoes without the slightest delay. , It would appear that both markets are going to advance in price, and no matter what Mr. Forbes may state of his earnestness to reduce the cost of living, if he does not act at once no faith can be put in his protestations of doing all he can to help in these troublous times of distress. —I am, etc., , PERTUBBED,