CONTROLLED FRUITS

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 132, 1 December 1936, Page 8

CONTROLLED FRUITS

If control of the supply of a commodity, and control of the price of it, are practical propositions, what better opportunity could a Government have to exercise such control than in the case of Australian oranges, the supply of which to New Zealand is rationed by the Government in the public interest? The Government, as today's Canberra cablegram indicates, *fixes the quantity of oranges to be imported, and stipulates four importing firms, two in each island. Thus control of supply and control of distribution are in a Labour Government's hand, and it is reasonable to expect that, if the control system is effective at all, the consumer should now receive "a fair deal." But so far the Government cannot be said to have effected any revolution in the matter of controllable imported fruits. There have been minute investigations, Ministerial visits to Samoa, and a committee visit to the Cook Islands, but in this season of apple scarcity let anyone try to purchase oranges or bananas of quality at a reasonable figure! That, it seems, is the acid test. The supply of fruit has been extended by more skilful storage of apples—the work of private enterprise—but results of Government control of imported fruits, in the way of reasonable quality ancl price, are yet to be harvested.