ABOLITION FAVOURED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26848, 12 August 1948, Page 6

ABOLITION FAVOURED

CEILING PRICES ON STONE FRUITS P.A. WELLINGTON, Aug. 11. * Ceiling prices on stone fruits were criticised at the annual conference of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation in Wellington to-day, and five remits recommending that ceilings be abolished were approved. It was also decided that in the event of ceilings being retained an increase in price should be allowed to compensate for the rising costs of production and the effect of removing subsidies on. cases and fertilisers. It was suggested that gate sales of fruit continue at full retail prices. Any form of standardisation of stone fruit is to be opposed. The conference recommended that greater efforts be made by inspectors to limit retailers’ profit on stone and other fruits to the legal 40 per cent, and that consideration be given to some system of marking cases at auction rooms with the price paid and the date. It was contended that better facilities should be provided for the loading and unloading of stone fruit at shipping points during wet weather. The importation of stone fruit was strongly opposed, due to the danger of importing pests into the Dominion.