SELLING OF PETROL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 72, 12 April 1937, Page 8

SELLING OF PETROL

■ Prcss AssociaCiun. *

Retailers and Dairy Factories

(Br Telegraph-

WANGANUI, Last Night. Two specific requests were made to the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Hon. D. G. Sullivan, by a deputation of petrol resellers from Taranaki, Wanganui, Rangitikei and Manawatu on Saturday. It was asked that the Government apply price fixation to all petrol resellers and, secondly, that with . the advent of such price fixation dairy factories, which at present are exempt, be includcd and, except in very special circumstances, no increase be made in selling points to dairy factories or similar co-operative concerns. The Minister, promising to give close consideration to the matter, said that petrol selliiig was now a licensed industry and was thus protected against the absurd multiplication of selling points which obtained during the past,. Progress in' carrying out the plan involved by the licensing of the industry had been delayed by a inultitude of difiiculties, but it was now close to fulfilment. Dealing with the subject of dairy factories as selling points for petrol, the Minister told the deputation that the dairy industry had long been regarded as a depressed industry and from tima to time concessions made to it. That was why he exempted dairy faetoriej from the provision of price fixation. However, the deputation had made out a good case, and in approaching dairy factories, he had found that iu the majority of cases the factories were agreeable to price fixation; in others they were indifferent as to what was done an* in others definitely against. He thought he could see a solution of the problem by bringing dairy factories under the price fixation provisions, but by a subsequent amendment to the' law giving them freedon to allocate the profits on petrol in such a way as they shall determine, eithei as a direct benefit to suppliers based on pnrchases of petrol or by putting the profits to the general trading account.