Forbidden ?

NZ Truth, Issue 1153, 5 January 1928, Page 4

Forbidden ?

THE tendency there is for soaring prices in ./fruit and vegetables during holiday periods, is surprising.

During the Christmas and New Year vacations fruit values suddenly inflated, as if the magic wand of commercial depression had waved over all fruit trees. It was remarkable how strawberries, during their most prolific period, jumped up electrically from threepence to sixpence a box more in the retail' shops: That is one item. Stone fruit and tomatoes all became very scarce! No doubt there is a ready excuse, but can the retailer really pass the blame on to the markets or growers? Buying in the open market may have been a little more keen but the supply was there to meet the defnands of all the John Chinamen in fruit and veg.-dom.

A glance round any of the fruit shop windows after the vacations revealed a noticeable^ surplus of over-ripe' fruit. The extra demand admittedly necessitated additional stocks, but the" increased prices must have kept a lot of people away from the fruit shops.

Chinese shopkeepers apparently work to the code of'regularity —no throat cutting — for.' there was very little difference in the prices of fruit and vegetables at any of their nunierousrshops— it all soared heavenward with one accord. ;

It would be dftcidedly interesting to know just how much rotten fruit was dumped over the holidavjs.;. .... ;. \ ■ ■ -;■ . /