DEARER POTATOES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 231, 30 August 1937, Page 6

DEARER POTATOES

FEATURES OF MARKET. SHIPMENTS OVERSEAS. “The tendency of North Island buyers now is to purchase from hand to mouth only. It is a tug-of-war between the holders and the buyers,” remarked a gentleman connected with the- potato distribution trade to a “Standard” reporter to-day, in discussing the effect on the local market of the higher prices of late in the South Island. “At the present time,” he said, “there is very little demand for potatoes locally. The public are evidently retraining from buying at the higher prices, and if these continue it may well be expected that they will turn their .attention to replacing potatoes with other vegetables for the meantime.” . On July 20 South Island white potatoes had been quoted at £6 per ton f.0.b., to which had to be added £2 10s per ton to give the wholesale price in Palmerston North. By August 4 the f.o.b. price had risen 10s, but to,-day it was more in the vicinity of £ll a ton, being thus equal to £l3 10s here. The reasons for the advance in price had been the shipping of a further 2000 tons of potatoes to South America and to secure that amount the shipping merchants had had to go round the country seeking supplies. It then appeared that the supplies were becoming short, and simultaneously certain interests had secured all tho “free” potatoes at from £6 10s to £J f.o.b. Continued buying by these interests had forced the price up to the present level. . Two years ago potato prices had risen to about £l7 a ton (landed in Palmerston North), but the price had not remained long at that level because from a consumption point ot view it was prohibitive, the informant continued. In that year, although the price had been £l7 a ton, it had dropped to £l2 a ton before tho end of tho season, as it had been found that there were more potatoes in the country than had been realised. As a result, toward the end of tho season the balance had been almost unsaleable. . , Proceeding, the informant said that potatoes were being sold despite the fact that they could not be landed in Palmerston North under £l3 10s a ton, which meaut a re-sale price of from £l4 10s to £ls 10s a ton. Whether the price would hold or not depended on the ability of the interests holding supplies to keep the market up. I here had also to be considered the few odd truck-loads held by South Island farmers who would be glad to sell near the ruling wholesale price now that the season was advancing and the price high. There was, in addition, the point to be considered that the early potatoes from Pukekohe would be coming in very shortly. -That would have the tendency of making the North Inland buyers purchase from hand to mouth now. THE AREA PLANTED.

To anyone studying the Government Statistician’s figures the position was even more interesting, he said. According to the figures there had been 19,000 acres in the South Island put down in potatoes last growing season. That, at an estimated yield of five tons to the acre, would give a total of 95.000 tons. The shipments to South America had totalled about 21,000 tons, and at the same rate as last year the shipments to the North Island should be about 31.500 tons. Taking the ratio of population, in round figures, the South Island would be consuming about 21.000 tons of last season’s crop, so that the total was about /4,000 tons, leaving still a very considerable amount to make up the last season’s estimated crop of 95,000 tons. It appeared that either the statistical analysis had erred, or else the season in the South Island had been markedly bad. It was difficult to understand why potatoes were short this year in view of the fact that in the growing season there had been 2000 acres more put down than in the previous season, while the weather had also been more favourable for the most recent crop.