FRUIT SHIPMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 214, 11 September 1939, Page 4

FRUIT SHIPMENTS.

BOARD'S BIG PROBLEM. GROWERS EXPRESS CONCERN. WILL GOVERNMENT TAKE OVER? Everything is in the inciting pot.," said a lea<lins local fruitgrower tint* morning in common-ting on t'lie protfpocUj ior the coming fruit season. The main nuostious ill to be lorl are w bother tlie Government will take over tiie marketing of apples and pears ha it has taken over | lemon*, and whether exports on the usual .scale will be possible under war conditions.

I The general feeling among fruitgrowers appears to be that the Government will take over the marketing, and that the Export Control Board will be absorbed by the Marketing Department. Even before. broke out tJhere was some support for State marketing, and now that marketing problems have been aggravated by the commencement of hostilities tlie case for Government control lias been strengthened.

In the pant New Zealand lms exported annuallj up to I ~>OO,OOO cutter ot applet and pears, but in the comintj season it appeal's doubtlul if .shipment on anything like that scale will be possible. I'tider war-time condition* it may be dii'HcuLt U> maintain the export ot butter, cheese, meat arul wool on the iixual wale, and t'hiwe products mu«st be given preference over fruit, _«i|ii«h taken up considerably more whipping space in relation to its \ahie. Pot iu*ita.nce. a case oi apples worth 10/ requires i.C cubic feet, while a box,of but ten - , which taki's up <mly about one cuibic foot, is worth over £3.

Thus, if war continues the Control Board or the Government may be faced with the problem of disposing of a surplus of over 1,000.000 cases of fruit, which would normally be exported, on the local market. One suggestion is that the Government's "milk in schools'' sciliome 'bo extended to include t'he dailv distribution of fruit to the school children