VEGETABLE BOXES

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 April 1946, Page 10

VEGETABLE BOXES

EMERGENCY REGULATIONS REVOKED CHARGES TO CONTINUE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, April 17. “By a Gazette notice issued to-day the Sale of Fruit and Vegetable Containers Emergency Regulations', 1945, has been revoked,” stated the Minister 'of Marketing, Mr. Roberts, today. “This is in conformity with the Government’s policy to rescind the wartime emergency regulations as soon as possible. “These regulations were gazetted in 1945 at a time when certain containers were in extremely short supply- Vegetable growers were finding difficulty in obtaining containers ior marketing certain crops. The position has now altered to a point where a surplus exists and, as importations of oranges and bananas are increasing, and these are packed in cases that are mainly used by-the vegetable industry, an adequate supply of vegetables cases is assured. Therefore the emergency which created the necessity for these regulations has passed. “The Government is sympathetic to the principle of charging for containers. It feels that this principle should be continued, but an adjustment of the charges, which may be necessary from time to time, might more desirably be ironed out by the trade interests rather than by regulations. In order to give a lead in this direction, I, therefore, as Minister of Marketing, have instructed the Internal Marketing Division still to apply this principle as far as practicable to the fruit and vegetables which it handles. Should the fruit and vegetable growers follow this lead, they also may require their selling agents to charge for their containers. “The regulations now being revoked embodied a schedule of prices for different containers. If this schedule is followed, the price orders which govern the prices on the transfer of the containers from one party to another will require no amendment, although it is possible that certain minor adjustments may be found necessary to the price orders, in view of the surplus which exists in certain types of cases. Should the effects of the revocation of these regulations be such that the ceilings of the price-con-trolled vegetables need adjustment an opportunity for discussion will be afforded within a few weeks, when vegetable growers are expected to meet the Price Tribunal to discuss various aspects of ceiling prices.”