SELLING OF FRUIT BY UNEMPLOYED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 134, 8 June 1931, Page 5

SELLING OF FRUIT BY UNEMPLOYED.

FRUITGROWERS HOLD OVER THE PROPOSAL. The Canterbury Fruitgrowers’ Association decided at its meeting on Saturday evening to hold over for six months the proposal for the sale of apples by the unemployed in the streets from barrows. The Christchurch District Retail Fruiterers’ Association wrote protesting against the fruit-growers’ proposal to approach the City Council for permission for the unemployed to sell apples in the streets. Fruiterers were having a very lean time, the letter said, and low prices had not made much difference. The proposal would bring about hardship to fruiterers, who were suffering as the result of reduced turnover. Endeavours were being made to sell fruit and they were not looking for high prices. Little to be Gained. The chairman (Mr E. Freeman) said that he had taken no action since the previous meeting when the resolution was passed, because he thought that the decision had been arrived at in a hurry and without much thought. He had discussed the matter with some members, and generally it was thought that there was not much to be gained. It would be necessary to get barrows to sell the fruit, and the association’s policy had been to oppose barrows. If apples ■were sold in the street they would not be sold in the shops. They could not have it both ways. The trouble this year was that there had been too much fruit put on the market. In recent years 500 acres at Loburn and 200 acres on the outskirts of Christchurch had come into bearing. It stood to reason that Christchurch could not absorb all the fruit. Export Necessary. The only way to maintain prices, continued Mr Freeman, was to export the surplus. This year 30,000 cases had been sent overseas, but the number should have been 70,000. It was really their own fault that prices were low. A member of the Control Board had visited Christchurch and departmental officers had impressed upon them the necessity for exporting. It was no use asking the retailers to maintain prices when the fruit-growers were over-supplying the market. In future they would have to ascertain the total output and the amount the local market could absorb. The surplus would have to be exported. Mr G. E. Billson said that the retail fruiterers were not the only people thought that everything possible should be done to create an export trade. Fruiterers should insist on selling Canterbury fruit. When that .was done, money was spent locally.

It was decided to hold over the proposal for six months. Mr Billson suggested that cards he printed to advertise Canterbury fruit in the shops. Exporters had agreed tu a levy per case for advertising purposes at Home. The chairman and seorctarv were appointed to inquire into the' cost of printing cards.