To Guard Against Vegetable Shortages

Northern Advocate, 20 November 1941, Page 4

To Guard Against Vegetable Shortages

[Per Press Association —Copyright.] WELLINGTON, This Day. The case for the auctioneers and merchants was presented to the Price Tribunal at the inquiry into the price of vegetables yesterday. “No Government, merchants or growers’ organisation could have seen in sufficient time the developments of the present situation, and so have appreciably altered it,” said Mr. Arundel Turner, of Auckland, on behalf of the New Zealand Fruit Merchants and Auctioneers Federation. Mr. Turner suggested that consideration of the following points would assist in overcoming similar future difficulties: The making available of frequent accurate information of plantings and intended plantings, with comparative figures for the previous year; the making available of adequate supplies of suitable manures; provision for suitable labour; intensified research into plant disease and pest control as affecting vegetables; the importation and distribution of suitable seeds; where necessary to implement labour, the provision of light farm machinery. “Dig For Victory” Campaign Tlie president of the Federation (Mr. A. Jacobs), said it was uneconomic prices in one season which led to a shortage and high prices in succeeding years. The ‘dig for victory” campaign in 1940 had this effect. Suburban gardeners responded to the appeal to such an extent that during the height of the season many lines could hardly be given away, and j the loss to producers was serious. \ Commercial growers, unable to j judge whether this campaign would be j repeated, were probably conservative j in their plantings of vegetables which i could readily be grown by the subur- j ban gardener. ! The auction system had stood the j test of years. Charges now made for; selling were exactly the same as in' 1936, in spite of many increases in ' costs.