SOME " PROFITEERING " FACTS.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The article entitled " Some Profiteering' Facts " appearing in your issue of May 31st last, treats of a phase of modern life which is as serious as it is mysterious, and which to _one who has lived for many years outside of England appears to be one of the most ominous signs of the time now observable in British every-day life. Whether the great increase in cost between the price at which many articles are sold by the producer and that asked from the consumer is due to 'eprofiteering " or to some other cause is a very wide question which opens up a vista of possibilities upon which I do not propose to touch in the present letter, but I will encroach upon your space to the extent of mentioning one concrete case that happens to fall within my immediate purview, i.e., that of the banana produced on these islands and sold to a great extent in England.
The ordinary banana- was sold regularly some three months ago in the public market at Santa Cruz at the rate of twenty- four bananas for one peseta. At that time the exchange was about Pts. 38.50 per pound sterling, or Pt. 1.00 was equal to about 7.20 pence (British currency). The retail cost of one banana in London was, I believe, at that time about 2d., though in many cases in certain hotels and restau- rants the price put-down in the menu was 3d. apiece. At the former figure twenty-four bananas would cost 48d. against 7.2d., the price paid' in the Santa Cruz market, or saT, 6.66 times as much. This seems to be utterly preposterous, and when it is remembered that the market price in Santa Cruz is very much higher than the actual cost to the shipper (and probably also the grower) of the fruit, the difference becomes more inexplicable than ever. '
If the following facts are taken into consideration, the retail cost of the banana in London can be closely estimated :— 1. Bananas require no refrigeration and are packed with straw in light wooden crates or cardboard drums, being carried on the steamer both below and on the deck. 2. About five bananas go to the pound avoirdupois (nett). 3. The loss through premature ripening on the voyage is small if due precautions are taken. 4. The sea voyage from the port of Santa Cruz to London is about 1670 miles.
Other commodities such as chocolate, toilet soap, &c., Imported from England cost retail in Santa Cruz practically the same, or very little more, than in London, so that it is extremely difficult to see why the banana, even if it is a more perishable commodity, should increase in value in the extra- ordinary manner it does, through the simple process of being transported from Teneriffe to London.—I am, Sir, &c.,
Previous page
