I WAS appalled to read of the plan to entirely close the long-established Terry's factory in York (Terry's factory to shut, April 19).

Why is this happening? Is Terry's losing money? No. Are their chocolates less popular? On the contrary. Is the parent company bankrupt? By no means.

It seems that the decision to close this major industry in York is entirely based on the desire to further maximise the holding company's profits.

Kraft has built new factories elsewhere in Europe, placed its investment there, and now wants to capitalise on that. The effect on York and the 200 years of tradition and expertise it plans to destroy has no effect on such people. No doubt Kraft will want to keep the York-developed recipes, and the Terry's name, to plaster over their foreign product, but that's all.

I am also surprised at the muted and fatalistic response so far from the local politicians. One of York's basic industries is threatened. And make no mistake, if Terry's production is shifted elsewhere, other chocolate makers will soon be looking to move as well.

If this were happening in other parts of Europe, there would be a major campaign to stop the closure. Can you imagine a company moving to, say, France, buying up a major brandy manufacturer, then closing the factory, burning down the vineyards, and transferring the production to Eastern Europe while keeping the Hennessy or Martel name?

Certainly not one drop of the ersatz brandy would ever be sold in France again. Faced with such concerted opposition, the plan would soon be dropped.

It's time for people and politicians to unite to save Terry's. Faced with the loss of a major part of their market-share in the UK through poor publicity, the profitability they hope to gain from closing the UK factory would quickly change.

Mr O Abiola,

Lowfield,

Scarborough.

Updated: 10:08 Tuesday, April 20, 2004