POTATO CONTRACTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVI, Issue 21360, 1 June 1939, Page 8

POTATO CONTRACTS

QUESTION OF SHORT DELIVERIES The position regarding short deliveries of potatoes sold by growers at prices below those ruling at present was discussed at a meeting of the South Canterbury Grain, Seed and Produce Merchants’ Association yesterday. Instances were cited of growers who had short delivered for these contracts, and had subsequently sold potatoes to other merchants at higher money, also of growers who were deliberately delivering short in spite of the fact that they had sufficient potatoes to cover their contracts, and it was agreed that action should be taken against these growers. A pleasing feature of the discussion was the disclosure of the fact that many growers, realising their responsibilities and knowing that merchants would have to fulfil the contracts with their buyers to the last hundredweight, had admitted their liability, and had offered to make up their shortages with seed potatoes at a price low enough to cover the loss caused by the short delivery of their table potatoes, while others had paid this loss in cash, or had agreed to supply sufficient potatoes from their next year’s crop to cover the loss.