PRICE REDUCED

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 129, 2 June 1937, Page 12

PRICE REDUCED

SALE OF ORANGES

DEADLOCK ENDS

FRUIT NOW AVAILABLE

The deadlock which occurred yesterday between the Government and the Retail Fruiterers' Association regarding the sale of Cook Island oranges ended today. As the result of negotiations between the Cook Islands Department and the association, the Government agreed to reduce the price fixed by Is a case to from 13s to 20s according to count. Members of the association, at a meeting held at the markets this morning, accepted the amended price, and the oranges were later sold. The oranges will be now available to the public at from 4 to 6 for Is.

In a statement issued after the meeting* this morning, the association's spokesman said that the association did not desire to embarrass the Government in any way, but it was felt that members could not have given the public the cheap oranges they desired at the price originally fixed. The whole object of the association in refusing to buy the fruit at the original price was to help the public. The association's ■ object was not to deprive the public of oranges but rather to see to it that the public received the commodity at the lowest possible figure. As a result of the interview representatives of the Cook Islands Department, the association had secured a reduction of Is a case and, provided the oranges were good, would be able to sell them to the public at four a shilling, five a shilling, and six a shilling, according to the number of oranges in the case. The experience was, however, that 10 per cent, of the oranges were bad before they could be placed on the shelves, and even when they were on the shelves they went bad. Oranges which went bad represented a dead loss to the fruiterer. The spokesman pointed out that the Island grower of oranges received only 2s 6d a case for his product, but the landed cost to the Government worked out" at about 14s 9d, which meant that on the average 12s 3d was eaten up in freight and other charges' Then, on top of that, the merchant received his commission of 10 per cent.