PRICE OF EARLY APPLES

Southland Times, Issue 24662, 6 February 1942, Page 4

PRICE OF EARLY APPLES

MINISTER STATES POSITION (Special) WELLINGTON, February 5. The Government last year incurred a loss of over £400,000 in saving the fruit industry,” said the Minister of Marketing (the Hon. J. G. Barclay) when replying in the House of Representatives today to an urgent question asked by Mr C. L. Carr (Government, Timaru). Reference was made by Mr Carr to the recent Press Association message from Nelson in which it was stated that there was a rise in the price of early apples of nearly 200 per cent, between the grower and the retailer, the middleinan being the Internal Marketing Department. Mr Barclay said early apples every year commanded high prices for a very small percentage of the crop which was ready in" the first few weeks. The Internal Marketing Division placed a limit on prices without which much higher values would have been paid by retailers in an endeavour to obtain the limited supplies of early fruit available. When full supplies of apples became available in- the very near future, the Internal Marketing Division would have to sell at prices much below the average price of 5/3 a . bushel case, which was guaranteed to growers, and consumers would derive the benefit of splendid fruit at low prices. The statement from Nelson was a gross misrepresentation of the effort being made by the Government to assist the apple and pear growers.