Fruitgrowers’ Plan To Market Produce

Northern Advocate, 4 October 1947, Page 4

Fruitgrowers’ Plan To Market Produce

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Negotiations between the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation and the! Government for a joint marketing! commission, which will be much on j the same pattern as the Dairy Pro-: ducts Marketing Commission, proceeded further towards completion yesterday. The full directorate of the Fruitgrowers’ Federation, which has been meeting for several days, spent much of the afternoon with the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser), the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Cullen), the Minister of Finance (Mr Nash) and the Minister in charge of Stabilisation (Mr Nordmeyer). No statement was made after the meeting but it was learned that the discussions will now be continued by a joint committee meeting which will be held next Thursd&v.

ALLEGES BLACKMARKETING

A message from Auckland quotes a local grower as stating that the low price paid for citrus fruit by the Internal Marketing Division was encouraging growers to sell on the black market.

The Auckland grower stated that 16/- per case was being received from retailers, compared,wim the controlled price of about 8/-. The prices of the two marketable grades of lemons to the growers at this time of the year were 8/- and 6/6 a bushel case.

In addition, a bonus was paid by the division at the end of the financial year on the results of marketing for the previous 12 months, and this was not expected to be less than 1/- a bushel.

Retailers were stated to be paying about 21/- a case for lemons received through the proper marketing channels and the retail price to the consumer was about SO/- a case. The secretary of the Auckland Citrus Growers’ Association (Mr F. Firth) said yesterday that the scarcity of lemons had prompted retailers to pay growers high prices, but it was in the interests of growers not to sell the fruit on the market.

HIGHER COSTS Because of internal costs such as packing, grading, railway freights and other charges, there was a tremendous margin between the price paid by the division and that paid by the retailers, said Mr Firth. Growers were not satisfied with current prices. Some months ago representatives of the Government and the growers conferred at great length on the costs to the producer. Prices were agreed upon and they were about 1/6 a case above those ultimately fixed by the Government.'

The recent withdrawal of subsidies on freights, fertilisers and other items also had to be taken into account.

It was estimated that growers would have to receive an extra 3/1 a case to compensate them.