SUGAR SCARCITY.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VI, Issue 1846, 14 January 1920, Page 3

SUGAR SCARCITY.

NEXT SHIPMENT DUE ON SATURDAY.

Apparently some suburban grocers are disposed to do a little profiteering in sugar. One case has been brought to the notice of The Sun, where a grocer has been willing to sell sugar by the bag if customers agreed to pay 30/per 701b bag. This is a trifle over 5d per lb, or considerably over the fixed price. The price of sugar is fixed only at the manufacturing end. Apparently there is need to extend the recentlyinstituted supervision of the sugar supplies to the retail trade. As previously pointed out, if a grocer deals with several merchant firms he is often in a position to obtain sugar from each firm; if, on the other hand his purchases are confined to one merchant, he obtains only a proportion of what is allotted to the merchant. With the machinery at present in operation it should not be difficult to see that the sugar available is fairly distributed to retail grocers. The scarcity has hit the growers of small fruits with particular severity. The Monowai is due at Lyttelton on Saturday, with approximately 400 tons of sugar, and it remains to be seen whether the decision of the Government to restrict supplies to non-essential industries is put into effect in handling this consignment. The manager of one of the leading distributing houses in the city estimates that of the 170 tons that arrived by the last consignment only 40 tons went on to the open market. The balance went to breweries, confectioners and various institutions, such as hospitals and homes that have large standing orders contracted for. Quite a large number of city firms have entirely sold out of sugar, and cannot accept orders for even the modest couple of pounds with which householders have become familiar, and there is little or no hope of the shortage being relieved until the Monowai arrives from Auckland on Saturday. It should be borne in mind that the Dominion has been particularly favourably circumstanced in regard to sugar ( in recent years. Sugar of No. 1A quality is retailed to consumers in England at B]d per lb at present, and, although New Zealand is nearer the producing countries, there is a very wide margin I between the two figures.