A FISHY BUSINESS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 52, 24 May 1927, Page 3

A FISHY BUSINESS

WHY IS FISH DEAR? POSITION IN BRITAIN Why is fish so dear? British housewives have been wanting an answer to this question for some time and now the Food Council is taking up the matter. It is holding an inquiry into the high fish prices and intends thoroughly to investigate all the stages through which our finny food passes on its way from the sea to the consumer.

There is certainly plenty of room for investigation. As the Food Council discovered when it began to discuss the subject, fish now costs 127 per cent, above pre-war prices, and in some large towns: as much as 144 per cent, above them. Yet the general index figure for foodstuffs is only 64 per <?ent. above pre-war! Forced to Go Without

As a matter of fact, fish to-day is much dearer as compared with the days before the war than any other article of food.

What is the reason for this? One thing is certain —the fishermen, who follow one of the most perilous callings in the whole range of industry, aren’t getting the extra money. Many of them have been hard put to it to make ends meet for the past few years In a good few cases, too, the owners of trawlers and drifters are also finding things difficult. It is nothing unusual for a trawler to come into harbour with a good catch and be forced to sell it at prices too low to cover- expenses.

But the same fish that sells dirt cheap on the quayside is so highlypriced when it lies on the slab in the fishmonger’s shop that many a housewife cannot afford to buy it. Poorer people, indeed, are cutting fish out of their bill of fare altogether. Mysteries of the Trade

Why should there be so much difference between the price at the port of landing and the price in the shops? It is often said that the high cost of transport is responsible, but this is indignantly denied by the railway authorities. It has been stated on good authority that railway rates should not add more than a halfpenny a pound to the retail price of fish. As a matter of fact, fish is often twopence or threepence a pound cheaper in country towns than it is in London. Yet this cheaper fish passes through Billingsgate just as that sold in the metropolis does, and has to pay additional transport charges—from the market in London to the town where it is sold. Short Supplies—High Prices This means that, even when catches are large, the actual quantity of fish that goes to the retailers is kept down, and fairly high prices can be charged. Speaking generally* indeed, there is an impression in many quarters that fish merchants prefer to keep supplies “short” so as to maintain prices at a high level, and for this reason don’t bother to stop the waste which undoubtedly does occur. Probably the Food Council will have something interesting to say on this point. Any information that may be published about profits will also be eagerly studied. It is sometimes stated that there is more profiteering in the fish trade than in any other. Both wholesalers and retailers claim that this is absolutely false. Will the Food Council exonerate them, or will it side with their critics? There is certainly something wrong, for fishing, “that nursery of British sea dogs,” is so unprofitable that it is in danger of joining the ranks of the decaying industries while the fishmongers’ wares are priced at a figure which the vast majority of housewives find absolutely prohibitive.