The Auckland Star WITH WHICH AND INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1927. THE FRUIT INDUSTRY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 3, 5 January 1927, Page 6

The Auckland Star WITH WHICH AND INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1927. THE FRUIT INDUSTRY.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the vrrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that toe can do.

The meeting of New Zealand nurserymen in conference in Auckland is a reminder of the importanc-e of the industry from the two points of view of money and health. As a district, Auckland's interest in the industry is second only to Nelson's, for North Auckland stands next to Nelson in orchard area. Fruitgrowing has expanded greatly of recent years, and the industry to-day is in rather a critical condition, in that it has banked upon being able to dispose of its surplus products on the English market, where there is competition from many countries and prices are liable to fluctuate violently. The industry is faced with two problems— improving its export trade and stimulating consumption in New Zealand. The Minister of Health and other speakers raised an important point at the opening of the Conference yesterday when they urged that the number of apple varieties raised be drastically reduced. This is not a new idea, but the fact that 59 varieties are exported shows that the movement for reduction has not gone far. It has been proposed that production should be limited to one or two varieties, which to a layman seems altogether too drastic. The Minister gave twenty as a proper number, and a representative of the Fruitgrowers' Association thought nine was sufficient. Reduction to something round about these figures would benefit the industry by enabling growers to concentrate their efforts on the best varieties and would make marketing easier. So much has been written about export,! however, that the value of the local market is I apt to be under-estimated. Figures in the ■ current Year Book are interesting on this point. Averaging returns for the three years 1922-25—the huge export last season is not included—the Statistician estimates that the quantity of apples "available for home eonsumption" is more than 52,000,000 pounds, against an export of only eight millions. The "amount available for consumption"—note that the Year Book does not say consumed —per head, was between 38 and 39 pounds. Reckoning four apples to the pound, this would give evety man, woman, and child 152 apples in the year. If we eliminate infants, the average for the apple-eating ages is higher. Even then, however, the average would be a long way short of the apple-a-day ideal of the foodreformers. Naturally, the Minister of Health urged that more fruit should be eaten, and he pointed to an obvious obstacle when he urged that costs be reduced. Something has been done of late to cut down costs on the road from producer to consumer, but there is room for much more effort. Prospects of high prices in England should not be allowed to obscure the value of the local market.