ORANGES RAROTONGA

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 151, 27 June 1924, Page 3

ORANGES RAROTONGA

ANOTHER SHIPMENT MONDAY. LOSSES ON WELLINGTON CARGO. The Ngakuta is due to reach Auckland next Monday with another shipment of 23,000 cases of oranges from Rarotonga, and the question naturally arises as to whether it will pay the shippers. Chatting this point over with an Auckland business man some interesting information was obtained by a representative of the Auckland "Star." "It will pay the shipping company," said the merchant, "for the freight will tot up to £3500." "But what about the shippers at Rarotonga ?" was asked. "Oh, that is quite another matter," was the reply. "If the Government will not interfere and divert steamers to Wellington, past experience has proved that better prices can be got for oranges in Auckland. Diverting the last boat to Wellington was disastrous for the shippers. We had to deal with about 300 cases of that shipment for clients at Rarotonga, and the account sales show no returns for the oranges, but an actual loss. Fortunately it is only 10/, but if similar losses occurred on the 23,000 eases it is a serious thing for the senders from tho Islands. You see the cases cost about 2/6 at Rarotonga, and then there is freight 3/7 i, that is 6/I.J, before any landing charges and commission have to be paid at this end. For the shippers to get anything for their oranges they require to sell at 8/ per case. As I said before, on the Auckland market oranges sell better than in Wellington. I suppose the people here have been educated to eat more oranges. It was folly to have incurred extra expense by sending some of the oranges from Wellington to Dunedin, for with the colder weather in the South Island there is less demand for the fruit. Oranges do not carry very well. I suppose we have not sot the proper boats for the purpose, because such fruit are carried all right from the West Indies to London. Here there is always a certain loss in the shape of oranges that have not kept well on a trip from the islands of the Pacific, although the run is a short one. It is hard lines for a man at Rarotonga to send 300 eases of oranges to Wellington, pay the freight, get no return, and be asked to forward ten shillings to square the account, but that was the experience of our unfortunate client, and its is to be feared that pome of the other shippers will have had no better luck. Wellineton people put pressure on to jret the steamers diverted to that port; the shippers had no say in the matter, and this is the result."