THE BREAKFAST TABLE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16451, 13 June 1921, Page 7

THE BREAKFAST TABLE.

PROVISION TRADE NEWS. CHEESE PRICE MOVES. FRUIT RATES HIGHER, Attempts to raise the price of cheese, J higher rates for lemons nnd marmalade ! oranges, and hints aDout a new sugar I contract were tho outstanding items I in to-day’s news from provision shops. Though cheese prices are falling cn tiie Homo market, an effort is being made to boost up the* local retail rate. In a suburban show tho other day a customer was charged Js 6cl a lb. and informed that bo was getting “new season’s cheese.” The article on sale

was really 1920-21 cheese, ior which j the wholesale price is about is 2]d ** lb. A city merchant said this morn- I ing that the general retail price in all ! centres was Is 2d, but this was for j 1919-20 chccHe. In most cases grocer® i were shy about dealing in last season's J stocks, particularly as holders were ; showing signs of uneasiness, and as j tho Home market had collapsed, j Hum mod up, the position seems to be that tho Ik fid retail rate* will not prove •* very popular. New American lemons to arrive this j week will be 10s a ease dearer than j the previous consignment. The retail j rate should bo three or four for is. instead ol live or six for Is. The first j marmalade oranges from Sydney are J selling at 9d n lb, rather dear. Ameri-

can oranges due this week will he just- j as dear. In spite of a message to the i effect- that a new duty in Australia will j increase shipments of bananas to New j Zealand, Christchurch firms are tiot i confident of anv reduction. ir ■ appears that hardly a week goes by : without the destruction of large con- j sigrmenis at Auckland on account of : ravages by a fly. Tho fly comes Jrom ! the islands and the authorities wish its j rigid exclusion from New Zealand, j though, at the same time, other ex- , perts say it could not. livo in this i climate.

In the vegetable trade, there arc few alterations to report. Cauliflowers are dearer, best samples costing Is each.

Traders in both Canterbury and Otago expect that a new sugar contract with a -reduced retail price will come into operation in September. T gather that from remarks made by the President of the Board of Trade,” said a storekeeper.” We Would like a drop now but it does not seem likely.” It is pretty well understood that at. the expiry of the current period of Government control of sugar in August there will I)e a renewal of this control for a further twelve months (says the Dunedin “Star.” If this decision is made it is pretty sure to cause a good deal of dissatisfaction. It cannot be denied that when tho Government first stepped in the result was that for a time New Zealand enjoyed cheaper sugar than almost any part of the world. To-day, however, sugar is probably deffrer here than in most other countries. The present price of ordinary sugar, fo.b.. Auckland, is £47 per ton. less a per cent. Yet Java sugar is offering at £26 10s per ton. c.i.f., Sydney. Tt may not be out of place at the present juncture to recapitulate in bare outline the existing arrangement. Supplies come from Fiji, purchased by the (Government at an agreed-upon price from the C.S.R. Company, whose plant at Auckland is used to refine it. The C.S.R., acting as agents for the Government, distribute the sugar under the direction of the Board of Trade- Merchants have a certain number of storekeepers allotted to them as customers, and distribute supplies among them proportionately to their requirements as previously ascertained by the Board of TradeThe cumbersomeness of the whole procedure is not the only objection, to it, nnd there are several indications that tho need for control lias now passed.

” The Labour Party lifts evidently decided to drop all agitation for a reduction in the price of bread and dairy produce,” said a merchant. “ One of its leaders holds that the agreements involved must be regarded as binding and that no change can come until they expire. That, is all very well, but l believe that all agreements, even a wages agreement, should be subject to revision whenever changed conditions make them harsh, unreasonable, or unduly , oppressive. However, if the latest Labour policy is adopted by all my customers and all complaints automatically cease, ] will he quite satisfied, even though ray wife is paying dearer for New Zeaymd butter than are our friends in England.” “ The member for Lyttelton says in effect that a drop of 6d a pound irt butter and of Id per loaf would mean a reduction of only 51 points in the cost of living index figure,” remarked a householder. “ I don’t know much about that index figure. What I do know is that sixpence off butter and one penny off bread would cut down my grocery bill quite enough for me to look pleased about.’ r “ A tricky reply,” said a grocer commenting on the letter from the Minister of Agriculture in regard to the sale of butter bought, but not wanted, by the Imperial Government.

; Tt is stated that the Impend authorities quite reasonably take the view that, if any of lira butter taken into stock in New Zealand on account of the Imperial Government is nowrequired for home consumption, such butter cannot be. regarded as exportable surplus, and the Imperial Government should be refunded any payments made for .-nme ’ Tho real point is evaded The British Government

bought a quantity ol butter, which the New Zealand Government is willing to export at tho price agreed on. Some of that butter has gone. The balance* is waiting to go. but the Imperial Government knows that it. must be sold at a less wherever it is odd. All the New Zealand Government has to say is ‘There is your butter. Take it. If you want to re-sell to us and save yourselves transport charges, da so. You are bound to make a. loss in any ease Out your loss by selling here.’ As I said before, it is a tricky reply. built up on a quibble over the words ‘ exportable surplus.’ ” Complaints have bsen made in the North Island that low grade butter in getting too common. The following paragraph from its weekly review of the produce trade forwarded to clients >,ew Zealand puts the position in a nutshell: —” Complaints from consumers as to tho quality of butter being retailed in Wellington at present by one of the most prominent firms have been rather plentiful, and we hope that this does not mark any fall-ing-off- in -the high standard of our butter. It ia to bo sincerely hoped that managers will not lose sight of the fact that our butter has now to go out and compete with butter from all over the world, and it will be quality that counts, not the fact of merely getting a first grade, which was sufficient to obtain tho maximum pricni under the Government contracts.” A Christchurch grocer said that butter sold in Canterbury was still of excellent quality, and complaints were few. Chilled supplies might come on the market shortly, and that would probably lead to a little dissatisfaction. A sharp reduction in eggs was an nounced to-doy. The new price ranges from 2s lOd to 3s a dozen. Lost Monday top-grades were 3s 6d. It i 9 estimated that about five-sixths of the New Zealand wheat crop has now been threshed (Bays the Dunedin ” Star.”) ■ Owing to tho exceptionally fine season j the sample is turning out even better j than had been expected. The consequence is that an unusually high proyorticn is graded as milling wheat, I

and everything points to a growing scarcity of fowl wheat as iho year advances. A hint may bo offered to these: who keep poultry not to defer purchases in the hope of ampler supplies and possibly lower prices later on, for it is not regarded as likely to materialise. ‘' Bacor. is a puzzle,” said a retailer. **' Heavy stuff was offered last week at 2d a lb cheaper, but v.-e hung off” Fish supplies are plentiful, and barraoouta prices have been reduced Crayfish are selling well. “ A nice handy one for Saturday night costs Is ” said a salesman.