POTATO STOCKS IN CITY

Southland Times, Issue 24825, 18 August 1942, Page 4

POTATO STOCKS IN CITY

No Acute Shortage At Present

No acute shortage of .potatoes has yet been experienced in Invercargill. This is probably because the city is the centre of an extensive growing district and most grocers carry fairly large stocks during the later part of the winter. Most retailers are prepared to sell lots of up to 281 b to their customers, but as there is no certainty about future supplies, they cannot say how long such quantities will be available.

The present position is that all stocks of potatoes held by wholesale merchants have been “frozen,” and sales cannot be made except by direction of the Food Controller. Growers may dispose of their crops only through wholesale merchants. Retailers are, therefore, unable to buy in the meantime. In parts of the North Island the shortage has already become acute and table potatoes are practically unobtainable in some centres. Restaurants have experienced extreme difficulty in securing supplies and have adopted a form of rationing of potatoes, which are served only with certain dishes. In Invercargill the restaurants expect no shortage, because in most cases they made their purchases for the season some time ago and have sufficient to supply them until, the new crop is available. RATIONING SUGGESTED The institution of an official rationing scheme to ensure the equitable distribution of existing stocks of potatoes has been suggested to the Food Controller by the New Zealand Master Grocers’ Federation as a means of meeting the position as disclosed in the announcement by the Minister of Supply, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan. A fortnight ago the federation suggested that rationing be introduced and further representations were made last week. It was suggested that the “O” coupons be utilized for this purpose. Knowing the stocks in hand for general consumption during the next three months, it should be possible to institution a rationing scheme almost overnight, and the implementation of this system would immediately enable consumers to obtain an equal allocation of the potatoes available. That would also assist retailers in the difficult task they at present faced in having to apportion limited supplies among buyers.