CEILING PRICES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26541, 16 August 1947, Page 3

CEILING PRICES

FRUIT AND PRODUCE EXAMPLE OF ENGLAND P„A. WELLINGTON, Aug. 14. A meeting of the executive of the New Zealand Fruit and Produce Merchants and Auctioneers' Federation resolved to-day to draw the attention of the Government to the lifting in England of ceiling prices on soft fruits to encourage production. During the discussion attention was drawn to a statement made by the Minister of Food in Britain. Mr John Strachey. which was considered to be directly' in line with the policy advocated by the federation during the past three years in Regard to soft fruit produced in New Zealand. Speaking of this year’s soft fruit crop, Mr Strachey was reported to have said that the only reason why the Ministry’s pre-emption order for soft fruit for jam-making was still in force was that, without it. there would not be enough fruit to keep up the output of jam. This, however, was last year. The acreage under soft fruit cultivation had declined from 61.000 before the war to 38.000 now. “We want now to reverse this process and increase soft fruit acreage, Mr Strachey said. “Next year there will be no pre-emption order for fruit for jam-making and no control of soft fruit so that it will get what price it can on the market and thus encourage farmers to grow more."