PRICE OF BUTTER

Hokitika Guardian, 19 October 1920, Page 3

PRICE OF BUTTER

DOMPLATNT OF RETAIL GROCERS. WELLINGTON Oct. 14. The retail grocers do not approve of the recommendations as to price made I by the Butter Committee of the House of Representatives. Mr H. D. Bennett president of the Master’s Grocers’ Asociation who u’as deputed to give evidence on behalf ol ! the grocers before the Committee, made a statement on the subject to-night. “It is regretted,” he said, “that the Butter Committee has paid no heed to the evidence submitted to it by representatives of the retail grocery trade, and that having ignored it, the Committee has made recommendations which are positively ridiculous in the eyes of the commercial men. The proposal to allow 2d profit ■for cash sales «,fc 2s 3d is equal to 4 per cent., while the cost of running a grocery business according to evidence submitted to the Committee is now 18 to 20 per cent. The stupidity of the proposal is in the allowance of so much as 2d for booking, The grocers did not ask for as much as this, and the trade cannot possibly charge its customers that amount. Why the Committee has made such a recommendation is beyond our understanding. The , Chairman of the Butter Committee is reported as having said that the price at the factory door would work out at Is ll]d and that would leave a good margin of profit for the retailer. The chairman knows quite well that that is not the case. The recommendation means that i.bo price at the factory door will be nearer Is U]d in bulk Then the wholesale distributor will come m with his freight packing and profit, which will amount to not less than lid making the retailers’ cost 2s Id. Ihe retail grocery trade throughout the country is not prepared to do hutter business on these conditions, and it it is compelled bv unsurmountable circumstances to do this, then it must increase the price at once in many other lines to make up the loss. If the outside price is to be limited to 2s 5d booked, then 2s 4d for cash would make it at least a commercial proposition. Unless Parliament makes an attempt to improve the position, there is no doubt that a Dominion conference of grocers will be called forthwith, and I would not like to say what it might decide to do.”