FRUIT BOYCOTT LIKELY

Chronicle (Levin), 16 May 1946, Page 2

FRUIT BOYCOTT LIKELY

-Press Association

UNLESS CONTAINER CHARGE IS REMOYED

By Teleciravh-

WELLINGTON, May 15. Unless an agieement on the conlaincr chargc is reaclied betwecn the greengrocers and Commcrcial Growers iu the ' meantime, vegetables and fruit for the consumer are likcly to be scarce at the weekend and almost unobtainable next week. A meeting of members of the Wellington Provincial Retail Fruit Traders' Associatiou this morning, attended by Europeans, Chinese and ludians, decidcd that from today no further produce, offered in containers subject to the charge, would be bought. The discussion at tlie meeting, carried on iu English and Chinese, was very auimated and the motions submitted wero carried unanimously. The difliculties of some large coneerns which had contracts, were considered and arrangemenls satisfactorv both to the contractors and thc meeting, were worked out. In a statcment after the meeting, Ihe secrotary of the Association, Mr. Ohau Wai, said it was the opiuion of tlie meeting that retailers had been imposcd on long euougli. It had been decidcd to takc a firm stand and liave it removed. The war timo regulations imposing a charge had reeently been revoked but since the revoeation the retailcr had still to pay tho charge. Now it would stop. The secrotary of the Couneil of the Commereial Growers' Association, Mr. L. Phillips, told tlic Press his Association wislied to coutinue the charge and would support it. "The Growcr will support it, " said Mr. Ohau Wai, "beeause he knows tliat while i-t continues, the retailer will havct to put liundreds of pounds annually into the poclcet of tlie grower. They are not concerned with' Ihe fairness of the situatiou. Calculations liave shown that 011 a basis of 30,000 packages passing through the markets each week, tho cost of the eontainer charge is £750. Tlie publie has had to pay that in additiou to the cost of the produce. ' '