FIRM CLOSES FOR 10 DAYS

Southland Times, Issue 23989, 2 December 1939, Page 4

FIRM CLOSES FOR 10 DAYS

All Stocks Of Tea Exhausted IMPORT CONTROL EFFECT (Special to The Times) AUCKLAND, December 1. With stocks of tea completely exhausted, Bushells, Limited, has been forced to close its warehouse and packing factory for 10 days. A staff of 10 is affected, comprising three men and seven girls. “This is the first time since the company began operations that it has had to close its doors,” said the manager. “The simple fact is that we have no tea and no more supplies will arrive until next week, so it is useless keeping the building open in the meantime.” The warehouse closed on November 23, and will not reopen until Monday. All available stocks have been sold to merchants, preference being given to South Island customers, who would otherwise have had no tea for Christmas. Ample supplies will arrive next week, but the delay will cause a serious setback, and the company will not be able to recover the time lost until about the end of December. It was pointed out that if sufficient import licences had been available before the war, this position would not have arisen. The interruption to shipping and the fact that the Ceylon market was closed for four weeks would have caused an inevitable delay, but the temporary shortage could have been overcome if purchases had not been limited since the end of July.