EFFECTS ON CITRUS INDUSTRY NOT FULLY FELT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22666, 17 June 1948, Page 6

EFFECTS ON CITRUS INDUSTRY NOT FULLY FELT

SUBSIDY WITHDRAWALS

The withdrawal of Government subsidies and the effect on costs to the industry were covered in the annual report of the New Zealand Citrus Council at the conference in Gisborne yesterday. It was stated that the full effect of the withdrawal of farm subsidies upon production costs had yet to be felt by growers. The council executive had met on two occasions to fully examine the situation and ultimately prepared a case which was submitted to the Stabilisation Commission. It necessitated an increase in the price of lemons and other citrus fruits to enable growers to recover those increased costs. “Mr. W. Nash, in reply to a query as to how farmers were to be reimbursed for the added production costs, stated that they would be recoverable from the markets," stated the report. “On the strength of this statement, (he council felt justified in requesting that all ceiling prices of citrus fruits should be advanced to the extent of the added costs. The Price Tribunal, however, maintained that for grapefruit Meyer lemons, sweet oranges, until the industry was prepared to submit a schedule showing the actual field and shed costs, it was not prepared to allow any advance in the present range of ceilings.

“This brings us to the point as to whether or not it would be advantageous for the industry to carefully consider preparing reliable data which form the basis of a cost of production schedule for these different fruits," concluded the report on that point.