FIXED PRICE OF VEGETABLES

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23970, 10 June 1943, Page 4

FIXED PRICE OF VEGETABLES

MINISTER’S REPLY TO GROWER From Our Parliamentary Reporter .WELLINGTON. June 9. The following reply to a letter on the subject of vegetable prices, written by Mr C. E. Pope to the editor of "The Press,” was made by the Minister in charge of Stabilisation (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan): “Mr Pope says that the 1940, 1941, and 1942 prices I mentioned do not indicate that they were payable prices to the grower; but those prices at this season of the year, for each of three consecutive years, were at least a third lower than the maximum price to the grower fixed by the price order For three years growers produced cabbages for market prices lower than the maximum contained in the price order. How, then, will the higher price under the price order discourage them from growing?

“Mr Pope's suggestion that growers were being penalised because some retailers had received more than 300 per cent, over wholesale prices Is ridiculous. Not only wholesale, but retail prices have to be fixed, and it is when fixing the retail price that profit margins have to be considered. Mr Pope apparently assumes that the present price is intended to be a flat one for the year, but the Price Tribunal has already indicated that the price order may be amended to meet production and marketing conditions existing after June 30. That fact is noted on the price order as printed. It was also mentioned in the press report of my statement on vegetable price control made on Thursday last. “The war-time prices index is designed to reflect the normal seasonal trend of prices for vegetables, and such revision would take into account the higher production costs and the comparatively low yields of cabbages during the spring months."