TEA PRICES TO BE RAISED

Southland Times, Issue 23969, 8 November 1939, Page 6

TEA PRICES TO BE RAISED

INCREASE EXPECTED SOON IMPOSTERS FACED WITH HIGHER COSTS Invercargill housewives ewn expect in the near future a rise in the price of tea. Stocks held by city wholesale merchants are on the light side—-one firm has not a pound in stock at present —and a system of rationing from wholesaler to retailer and from retailer to the public is in force- One wholesale firm has worked out the average purchases of its customers for the preceding 12 months and is not supplying them with more than those quantities. “There is sufficient tea in hand for normal requirements,” said one merchant yesterday. ■ He explained that the committee which controlled export allotments from India, Ceylon and Java was increasing the export quotas for the next few months and this was likely to cause an easing in export prices, which made a "panic” rise on the outbreak of war, but had since receded. Export prices were still above the pre-war levels and. freight and insurance charges were also higher, Stocks now being landed thus showed higher costs and an increase in the retail price must inevitably follow, Another factor that affected costs was that New Zealand importers were unable to pay as promptly as they wished bepause of the rationing, of exchange; consequently they had to pay interest during the period between shipment and the date when stealing remittances were available, Some of the tea now being landed would not be paid for until June of next year, Another merchant said that most of the stocks of tea held by importers had been landed at higher costs than those ruling before the outbreak of war, and as they were not yet permitted to raise their prices they were not prepared to sell until they could do so at a profit. He expressed the opinion that at the present rate of consumption there was enough tea, including. what had been already hoarded and what was on the water, to last until the middle of December. His firm could not at the moment supply even a pound of tea, Normally they Carried five tons in stock, Recently they had enough in store to last, under normal conditions, about six weeks, but it had all been disposed of in a week.