The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING THURSDAY. MARCH 19, 1908. THE DISTRIBUTION OF FRUIT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2143, 19 March 1908, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING THURSDAY. MARCH 19, 1908. THE DISTRIBUTION OF FRUIT.

There ilias been a- great dud of comment during the present season at the 'great disparity between ithe prices that have been paid by itilio .public for fruit and those realised ‘by the grower, and Gisborne folks have not been alone in their objections. Quito recently public meetings have been held in Christchurch. and in Wellington, with a view ito devising some means of obtaining for tbe consumer cheaper fruit. In the former case, a climax has been brought about bv the .action of .the auctioneers -at the fruit sales .refusing to accept bids from persons not connected with the -trade . The position in the Southern city was much tho same as in Gisborne, namely, that consumers Slave been driven by the high prices asked Jin the shops to visit tho auction rooms, to seo if they cannot save some of tbe high cost demanded for .all classes of fruit. Tho Christchurch retailers considered their profits wore being .reduced in this .way, land issued -a mandate to the auctioneers that if bids were accepted from it-lio general! public they would boycott the sales. It is difficult to see how the position is to he. met immediately. The -retailors aro combined, whilst the growers ure not, and .the latter are naturally compelled to send their fruit to sales which will be -attended by the shopkeepers. If, on tho other hand, blie growers were organised, 'they could in case of such a boycott as t-ha-t now threatened open an auction murt, and also shops in which to vend their own goods. -In tlio meantime, chief attention, -both in Christchurch -and Wellington, appears to -be directed .at schemes for the establishment of municipal markets, at which tho grower and consumer s'bii'.l be -brought into direct touch, and unless private enterprise is .prepared to mako better -arrangements than exist at present it would appear to be the best solution of it-ho trouble. Wo strongly object to the -State or municipality interfering with legitimate business, but when -the mismanagement of so important a trade -as that .in fruit becomes so pronounced that -a largo section of tho public is unable to purchase their necessities, except to a very limited exton-t, -and that only during a fc.w months of the year, it is timo for some radical change to be brought about. Locally, prices have not been so high us in somo parts of the -Dominion, but there has been little fruit for sale in the shops -that could be said- to bo really cheap, and striking an -avorage tlio bulk of that retailed has cost the consumer more than 100 -per cent, above the price received by the producer. -One result of this state of.affairs has been that the poorer classes have not bought nearly -as much fruit as is necessary from a health point- of view, and -another is that the fruit auctions have been liberally patronised by buyers other than those in the trade. To that section of the public -which has been able .to buy in this way, the result- has been satisfactory, -but the trouble is that the majority of .people aro not at liberty to attend a sale in. the morning, nor are they desirous of buying -in such' large quantities as are on offer -at these sales, A -suggestion has been made that some of the (local orchuvdfcU should combine and form a co-operative- company, which would open one or more shops in town where fruit could bo sold at the lowest possible rate, .and ithi.it all profits should go to the shareholders on -a similar basis ito that .adopted in some of the big co-op-erative concerns which deal in -general merchandise. Such a scheme would probably meet with u- good deal of support, but it seems .to us that a much better plan whereby the -growers may get into -direct touch -with the public, would be -by utilising the existing auction marts. ] f the growers were to agreo to forward their fruit in lots that would suit- the average householder, .and if some of tho sales were held on Saturday nights and Thursday nights largo quantities of -fruit would be sold on terms satisfactory both to tbe orebard-ist and the consumer. The; establishment- of such -a -trade would , naturally have sonic effect on the : retailers, but it must -be remembered that in -almost every towp -in the Dominion there aro far too many fruit shops, and it is this -fact which; has a good deal to do with tho high prices charged. With so many in 1 the same business tho amount of trade falling to oacli is comparatively small, the result being that- n larger percentage of -profit has to be insisted upon to pay the heavy rents, and allow for waste, than would be tho case were -tho turnover on -a more extensive scale. One thing is certain

■that in a. country so eminently adapted for fruitgrowing ms this there should bo .an abundant supply for the people at very much lower rates than they mro on lied upon at present to pay.