REASONS GIVEN

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20958, 10 November 1939, Page 10

REASONS GIVEN

hRUIT OFFER REJECTED GROWERS STATE CASE BIG DEFICIT LIKELY (By Telegraph.—Press Association) WELLINGTON - , Thursday The reasons why the proposals involved in the Government’s offer to fruit-growers were unacceptable to the industry are given in a statement by the New Zealand Fruit Board this evening on behalf of the industry. The offer by the Minister of Marketing, the Hon. W. Nash, included a proposal to purchase 1,000,000 cases at "s a case f.o.b. “The f.o.b. price of 7s is below our actual costs,*’ says the statement, “but the industry is prepared to make a sacrifice at least equal to other sections of the community. We are not haggling over the question of 7s a case, but have pointed out to the Minister in very definite terms that through basing his purchase price at f.o.b. point and making growers responsible for cool store charges and the condition of fruit while in cool store, he does not give to the grower any definite figure which could be regarded as a net return from the Government purchase. “The growers have requested the Minister on several occasions to nominate his price at the assembly point, the Government to take the responsibility of storage charges and of the fruit after delivery to his officials at the assembly point. This the Minister refuses to do. £494,000 Deficit "A more Important and fundamental reason why the Minister’s proposal was not acceptable to the industry is that his proposal does not offer to the industry any medium for financing a reasonable return to growers for the remainder of the crop, nor does his proposal assure the industry that there will be any cool store space available to it. “Mr Nash is prepared to buy 1,000,000 cases. This leaves 2,500,000 cases for sale on the local market. The expenses involved, covering production, cost of packing (both export and local), transport charges, cool storage and repacking fruit from cool store before sale on the local market (which is insisted upon by regulation), amount to approximately £1,123,000. Against this expenditure there would be receipts represented by the 1,000,000 cases bought by the Government, £350,000, plus returns from the local market, estimated at £279,000, or a total sales return of £629,000, leaving the grower £494,000 on the wrong side of the ledger. Growers’ Proposals “The growers’ proposals are:— That the Government take full control of marketing (both export and local) and give to the producer the cost of production, plus a fair standard of living, the price to be fixed by the Minister and based on the report of Mr Picot's committee of investigation; that the present Fruit Board, augmented by representatives from the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation, the Internal Marketing Department and' the Department of Agriculture, be given statutory power to control marketing (both export and local) and the producer be guaranteed an average minimum return of 5s a case. “Growers’ average costs are regulated by the operation of the Government's economic policy and Government regulations, and amount to 3s 4d for production, which is equal to Id a pound, plus 2s 6d a case for grading and packing. Any reduction in this figure falls, not on the merchant, transporter or worker, but on the grower. The grower is prepared to make this sacrifice of lOd a case and, further, is prepared to agree that if the market returns exceed the growers’ costs the surplus be deposited in a marketing fund, and, if necessary, used against deficits in future years.”