ATTITUDE OF BRITISH WHOLESALERS TO PRICES AND PROFITS

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 March 1948, Page 5

ATTITUDE OF BRITISH WHOLESALERS TO PRICES AND PROFITS

(Rec. 9.45 a.m.) LONDON, March 14. The National Standing Committee on Wholesale Distribution, in a memorandum replying to the Government’s request to reduce prices and profits, states that, wholesalers net profits are so small in proportion to consumers’ prices that the contribution the wholesalers can make is almost negligible. The memorandum, nevertheless, contains definite orders from some sections of the wholesale trade to reduce and freeze their margins. The memorandum suggests reductions in direct and indirect taxation, which tends to increase prices and reduce the real value of wages, and contends that any attempt to reduce prices apart from the purchase tax must begin at some stage before wholesale distribution. This is the second big trade group to reoly to the Government’s plan. The Federation of British Industries, the Association of British Chambers of Commerce and the National Union of Manufacturers, in a joint reply on Friday, recommended increased productivity, the reduction and stabilisation of wages, and the limitation of dividends.