POTATOES FOR EXPORT

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 204, 24 May 1920, Page 5

POTATOES FOR EXPORT

GROWERS SEEK AN OUTLET

DEPUTATION TO PRIME MINISTER

.Potato growers who interviewed the Primo Minister at Christchnroh, asked that tho Government should seek the removal of the Australian embargo. They stated -that there was going to be an over-supply of, potatoes in North Cantorbury this season. The lifting of the Australian embargo would' result in a fair market price to growers. The price which merchants were offering, at present —from J3 10s. to ,£4 per ton—was too low. It cost ,£35 per acre to grow potatoes to-day; and many 1 returned soldiers had taken up, expensive land for that crop. The growers believed that merchants were keeping down the local ,price. Dr. Thacker, M.P.: If Australia will not lift the embargo, perhaps you could get into touch with the West Coast of North America. There is a market there.

Mr. M'Evedy: Or the Argentine. , Mr. Massey: The Argentine is out of the question.. He added that ,he understood the subject, and that he quite realised how impossible it was fftr anyone to make a profit, or, indeed, to avoid making a loss at .£3 10s. per ton : with tho cost of production as high as it was. The matter had not been lost sisht of by the Government, which ltiid iilready had 6evoral communications from Australia, although, so far, no success had been achieved. All potatoes entering Australia were required to submit to searching tests, such, as applied really to seed potatoes only. This made it impossible to get through potatoes .for consumption. Tho Government could make further representations, and would. He believed the matter to be of almost as great importance to Australia as to New Zealand.

Mr. Walter: Yes. The price in Sydney is from £12 to ,£l3 per ton now.

Mr. Massey added that, if nothing could be done with Australia, _ ho was quite willing to try San Francisco, Vancouver, and Honolulu. He beliovod that there was a market there; but the great difficulty was shipment. Mr. M'Evedy: Tho Argentine is a good market for New Zealand rpplee; if wo could send both together— Mr. Massey: There is a market there for apples—probably for all the apples we can produce—but we cannot get shipping at reasonable rates. It takes practically the whole value of the apples to pa.y tho freight. I shall inquire whether wo' can get freight to the Pacific Coast of North America at a reasonable rate.