Stale Fruit: State Shuns Expert Advice

Chronicle (Levin), 1 July 1948, Page 6

Stale Fruit: State Shuns Expert Advice

NELSON, June 30. Representatives of the Newe Zealand Fruit Merchants and . Auctioneers Federation told fruit growers at Tasman that there were numerous oecasions when various lines *of apples and pears, including Gravensteins aiui Coxs, were sold at prices as low as 2s and 2s 3d per case, under instruetions from the Marketing Department. These occurrences were tlie -result of overlong holding for prices in excess of the market value, it was stated. Another result of the Department 's policy was that a large percentage of maiu varieties reached the public in a stale aud sometimes overripe condition. Speakers said the federation had olfered its services to both the Government and Fruit Marketing- Council during recent years but the olfer was uot aecepted. " In consec|uence whole-sa-le distributors were kept completelv in the dark as to what fruit was available and where. Though the federation 's membcrs had sold the bulk of the fruit over their floors under the direc-tion-of the I.1M.D., their knowledge and experience had never been called on in important matters, the -lixation of

prices and Ihe tune for marketing partieular varieties. That* failure to eniplov expert knowledge available had resulted in growers not doing as well as they might have and cousumers not being supplied with fruit as fresli as it ' should have been.