MARKETING OF LEMONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 120, 24 May 1939, Page 5

MARKETING OF LEMONS

STABILISED PRICE

GOVERNMENT CONTROL

As a result of discussions between the Government and the New Zealand Citrus Council, as representatives of the growers, the Government has now taken the responsibility of marketing all lemons, and has assured growers of a stabilised price.

This announcement was made in an interview today by the Director of Internal Marketing (Mr. F. R. Picot), who said that most people would remember the very heavy glut of lemons which occurred towards the end of last year, with consequent unpayable! prices tc producers. It would be con- j ceded,, therefore, that the growers had a perfect right to ask the Government for some form of assistance by way of more orderly 'marketing. By the means now adopted it should be possible to avoid the alternate periods of over-supply with their consequent low returns to producers and the corresponding harm done by the reverse position of very short supplies and high prices. Another reason tor Government supervision had been the fact, which had been recognised by. growers in the main lemon-producing areas, of the need for standardising curing methods in order to see that only good quality fruit sffould reach the public, and this should have the very desirable effect of stimulating permanent demand for New Zealand lemons. SHORTAGE ANTICIPATED. The general public would also appreciate that there had been room for more scientific methods of marketing for the New Zealand lemon crop, as the recent shortage had adequately shown. The Internal Marketing Division anticipated this shortage, which always occurred about this time of the year, and took steps to import a certain quantity of lemons to meet a normal demand pending the availability of suitable New Zealand lemons, but at the game time arranging imports in such a manner as not to be detrimental to prices received by New Zealand producers. No one, of course, | could have predicted that the sudden influenza epidemic would create such a large and immediate demand, and no quantity of lemons would have been sufficient to satisfy the requests made by the public in recent weeks. Mr. Picot pointed out that the recent high prices received in certain centres for lemons were not for fruit harvested after May 1, on which date the Government had arranged to take over the New Zealand crop, but rather applied to stocks of lemons on hand or in the process of curing prior to this date.'

New Zealand lemons are now coming to hand more freely, and with the Internal Marketing Division keeping a close watch on the matter of supplies and maximum price in both the North and South Islands, such difficulties as have been experienced during the last few weeks will be immediately overcome.