PRICE OF APPLES

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXV, Issue 254, 28 October 1942, Page 4

PRICE OF APPLES

ORDER NOW IN FORCE. The Internal Marketing Division has been instructed by the Government to dispose of the remaining stocks of apples in cool storage at such vholesale prices that the maximum letail piice will not exceed 6d a lb. This pi ocedure was operative fi om Monday , and will be continued toi the i emainder of the year until existing stocks are exhausted The Minister for Marketing (Mr Baiclay) stated that, in collaboration v> ith the Internal Marketing Division the Price Tribunal had prepared a price order, which would also apply as fiom Monday, fixing the wholesale price of apples at 13s 6d a case and the retail price at 6d a pound. All wholesale distributors had had seven days' notice of this new procedure. and had been requested to advise all their retail clients immediately so that they could clear any stocks of apples bought at wholesale prices in excess of 13s '6d a case. LIMITED SUPPLIES. The Minister stated that the quantity of apples available to the public from now until the end of the year was strictly limited, as it was conditioned entirely by the amount of cool storage space available. It was considered, therefore, that the fairest policy to adopt was to ration the fruit on to the market as far as possible in even monthly quantities, and at the same time fix a, retail price which would enable all sections of the public to purchase their appropriate share of the supplies available. Retailers were asked to cooperate with the Government in making this procedure a success by ensuring that fruit would be fairly apportioned between their regular customers. Every effort would be made by the Internal Marketing Division to make the existing supplies last until the end of next month and possibly into the first week of December, but whether this could be achieved depended entirely upon how the fruit continued to hold in cool store, as it would be better to increase the quantity of fruit on to the market than incur any risk of wastage through deterioration. It was hoped that, with every indication of favourable climatic conditions, new season's stone fruit would be available very shortly after existing stocks of' apples were exhausted. v