Potato Famine Hits Greymouth

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 November 1949, Page 5

Potato Famine Hits Greymouth

The humble potato, once despised . by retailers and carried as a “neces- | sary” line by greengrocers and gro- i cers, has now become a “catch line,” j ranking with such fruits as pine- ’ apples and bananas. In Greymouth, ‘ in common with other towns in New Zealand, the potato shortage has now become a famine and many families have had their principal meal of the ( day this week without potatoes. I Retailers are being harassed for i potatoes, as they were for oranges j and bananas during the years of: acute shortage, but they are unable to do much about it. “Customers only” has become the rule, but insufficient potatoes are reaching Greymouth to enable retailers to supply even their best customers with anything like adequate quantities. Christmas Difficulty? Greymouth merchants consider that the famine will.last for at' least' another month, >. and one said this: morning that he considered that' people without their own gardens, would be lucky to get adequate sup- ; plies of new potatoes for Christmas • dinner. , . The partial failure of last season s; crops in the South Island was the; initial cause of the shortage and, apart from a few potatoes of such poor quality that they would be “dumped” under normal circumstances, stocks of “old” potatoes have become exhausted. This has resulted in an unprecedented demand for the new season’s crop,. from Nelson, and the quantity availably is insufficient

’to supply the needs of the lateri growing districts. i A Press Association message from , Nelson yesterday claimed that Nelson ■ growers are doing their best and are ’ catering for the southern markets 1 also to the exclusion of the North, but some Greymouth merchants, cast doubts on. this claim and allege that the Nelson growers are being offered i premiums to divert supplies to the I North Island. It is admitted; that competition is fierce for the inade- ■ quate supplies available and that ' there are thus inducements to overlook” Price Tribunal maximums in some quarters.. Canterbury’ Crop Late Even in Nelson,' to which district the South Island must continue to look for supplies for some time yet, the ration imposed by most retailers is 31b a customer. The Canterbury new-seasbn potatoes are normally much later reaching the market in i quantity than those from Nelson and i this year late frosts have caused a ‘further set-back. I It is estimated that it will be the third or fourth week in December 'before the Canterbury potatoes are I available in Greymouth shops and that the famine will continue until i then. Amateur gardeners who have potatoes nearing the flowering’stage : are finding it difficult to resist. the , temptation to start digging their crop ‘ and it seems inevitable that .mapy I potatoes will be dug before maturity ■ which, in turn, may prolong the i “sellers’ market.”