SUPPLIES OF EGGS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 98, 20 January 1943, Page 4

SUPPLIES OF EGGS

Improved Distribution Aimed At

CIVILIAN REQUIREMENTS

Reasons for the shortage of eggs were given by the Minister of Marketing, .Mr. Barclay, in replying yesterday to criticism of the Internal Marketing Division by Mr. Cook, M.L.C. He said the Government was determined to find ways and means of ensuring a more satisfactory distribution of eggs to the civilian population over the Dominion as a whole. t The Minister said that .Mr. Cooks remarks were irrelevant so far as the division was concerned with regard to all the commodities lie hod mentioned other than eggs. The distribution .of such commodities as strawberries, New Zealand-grown oranges, cherries, grapes, lettuce, cauliflowers, and tomatoes was made entirely through private trading channels, while the prices were determined on the auction floor by the supply and demand position from time to time. The Internal Marketing Division had not been charged witli any marketing responsibility in relation to these items. In the ease of eggs, said the Minister, supplies had certainly been short at various times, and particularly in the North Island. This was one of the minor sacrifices which the public were being called upon to bear to assist the war effort of the United Nations. The development of the war in the Pacific had made New Zealand a vital factor in the supply of eggs to armed forces in an area far wider than the Dominion itself. Supplies for Forces. “If this obligation is to be faithfully carried out,’’ said the Minister, “there must be fewer eggs available to the public, particularly in those areas where overseas demands are heavy and come at short notice. “At tlie same time, the Government is aware that there are more eggs available to the people in the country districts than in the cities, because the great majority of eggs are produced in the country, and with the high level or purchasing power, these eggs are now readily consumed in those areas. “It is, therefore, obvious that, if additional supplies are to be available to tiiose centres where the armed force requirements are at their peak, the Internal Marketing Division will have to be given the additional authority to make purchases in the producing areas and absorb the additional cost of transporting these supplies to tlie main centres. This question is now under immediate consideration by tlie Government, which is determined to find ways and means of ensuring a more satisfactory distribution of eggs to the civilian population over the Dominion as a whole. “I have tlie fullest confidence in tlie officers of the Internal Marketing Division, who are successfully carrying out their work under difficult conditions. If it had not been for the operations of this department, tlie public in Auckland and Wellington would have been receiving even fewer eggs than they are now.”