THE PRICE OF EGGS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2753, 24 April 1916, Page 8

THE PRICE OF EGGS

• MARKETS MUST BE REGULATED. In--a -paper- to be read at to-day's • Poultry.. Conforenco by tlio retiring president (Mr.;Av. J. Mumby), referenco will .be 'niade to]the. recent and current abnormal price of eggs in New Zealand. "One great'weakness at the present time,". he:;says,' "is the extreme high prioe.of;eggs:'iii. April and May, and the comparatively;' low. prices reached'. in September'and-,-October. Last, year ' hun'dreds'bf 'thousands of eggs were imported: into;,.this country from America on ao<Munt;;of';:these high prices. _ If we desire to prweiit this sort of thing, we must" regulate'the market so that . these high prices cannot be reached. If it can be done, both producer and consumer would gain-, by it. A penny 'a . dozen: more.for eggs in August, September,'.;; October, ' November, December, January, and,, February might ivory easily be better than 4d. a dozen .more, "in April, May; and June. The consumer would naturally get more opts ;'at;a reasonable price, more eggs would be consumed,-this* creating a greater dfemand. We certainly should not have these big'. importations of eggs, rather 'woshould aim for export." Mr. Muniby' points out the v weakness of marketing eggs direct to retailers, who naturally paid to producers the' least tliey reasonably could below the selling prico. They .manipulated the markets to suit their business. "In regard to Wellington, J | can .'speak .with some inner knowledge. About three years ago the position of the Wellington market, was 1 such that we w;oro_nearly'all selling our eggs to' the retailer, and • things got - rather acute.. ( The prices varied somewhat on ■the same market. Some of us changed l about a bit in search of the retailer ; who paid the' best prices, and : thought j we had him at times, but only for 'a short while.!.' . '' ■Referring'to newspaper, quotations , and the New Zealand Poultry Indusv ; tries, quotations, Mr. Muniby will give a comparison for. the month of April ; this year, showing that the "Indus- : : tries" quotation'"was from 2d. to 4d.. per dozen higher in . price ■ than the: j newspaper market reports. • . . ]