THE FRUIT GROWING INDUSTRY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12826, 10 June 1907, Page 8

THE FRUIT GROWING INDUSTRY.

AN APPEAL FOR PROTECTION. POLITICAL ASSISTANCE PROMISED. A lar~>ly-attended special mooting/>' the Canterbury Fruitgrowers' A&mcui tion was held on night, to, the purpose of discussing with district Pa li.uncntary repress ntativew, tlio auof continuing the p.otection extended by the present tariff to th. N(,w Zealand fruit-growing industry Mr F. -Siison presided. Messrs D Huddo. H. Davcy, G. Witty and C. M. Gray. M.H.R.'s, were in attendance. a>d apo.kgie-s for absence wore r<«©ived from yU**r* C. A. C. Hardy,,F. R. Flatnsnn, and It. Ilea ton Rhode*. M.ll.U.'s. , . Mr K. H. Littlo. of the Chmtchurch Fruit and Produce Company, in apoio.ri.iii" i'>i' alKoncv, wtid that if tlKrriiit e dtity ol Id V tr lb levied upD'i imi>..riod "fruit wero interfered with, it v,-, ,I,| \,2 the death knell to tho lcvul indi>ti-v. He hardly thought there w- 'iii'v wrious intention 0:1 the pari of V;:i lament to 1 educe the duty in iato of what tho On-eminent was doing to a->-ist the iir.iu.stry. 'Hie wnt V'-Kii"rff.-.t'j;l that th*> Association ehou d fi'iTt for an extension of quite another six weeks' duty to emblo the X wveis to their stocks. The following li--5t of arguments in favour of continued protection, dru.rn up by a sub-ccmnutU-e of tho A-.socm-tinn/wore read and approved:—(l). Our col cniial fruit indu&tiy is fctill in its infancy, there l«eing an yet no oxport trade, and Government foatenng \*h\\* felt an urgent necessity. (2.) Ino fruit-growing industry is, practically β-ieakuig, a necessary part of the work of close settlement of land with its intensive cultivation. (3.) Wo iocl it is a sheer impossibility to make I'm itgrowing an important colonial industry without a oon&ideiable duty on imported fruit. (i.) Wo are handicapped in competition with Australia by higher paid labour- higher-priced land, ami we strongly object", at tho expense of our own workmoji, to foster foreign industries vrith their underpaid labour. (5.) Wo point out that tho item "labour" is continually increasing, owing to the introductiou on unpoited fruity or foreiixn orchard posts, such as fruit fly. " (6.) At prewjiit, Australia and Tasmania send us their eocond grado fruit. If tho tariff were removed, our jnarkets would bo the dumping ground for their poorer fruit, our industry would bo killed, and with <kt';rioration of quality, th«»ro wouid bo al)wolutelv no bar to a rise of price.-; later on. (7.) Cheap fruit would not ho obtained simply by removal of tho duty, as bad methods of distribution, are even-a larger factor inliiHiu.in<r tho prico. {S). The present season has shown that fruit of tho highest quality can bo produced in Canterbury, and with a continuation of the piwent Government policy, wo aro certain that before long an export trado will Ik> established, and the industry eet on its feet. (!).) On account of in-ert-using production of la to-keep rug fruit, which is not marketable till August, wo can supply our own markets until the end of that month, no that, tho reduction to id ehouldi not bo mado until that date, instead of tho 15th July, as at present. Tho chairman, in explaining tho position to tho members of Parliament present, stated that if tho duty were in-toiYere-d with, wages would have 10 come down. At present, it cost tho speakor £50 a year to combat the co4hn moth, and if the fruit fly became established, it would cost him another £30. If there wore better methods of distribution by the- wholesale firms, the consumers would pay lea*. If tho City Council established tho proposed municipal markets, tho > growers would get more for their produce, lvhilo the consumer, dealing direct with tho grower, would pay less for fruit than at present. Tlio display of Canterbury fruit ai tho Exhibition included some of tho finest varietm* ono could wish to ccc, and was much better than that from Canada.

Mr C. Arlington pointed out that owing to tho encouragement given to tho truil-growing industry by tho Government, many pcoplfl had been induced, to epciul considerable sums of money in puichasing and Laying out land, and th«so would lose heavily if the duty troi'O minced.

IWr Gray asked if the chairman could explain how it was that in many orchards fruit was left to rot on tho giound, while in Cliristohuroh decent apples could not bo purchased at loss than 6d per pound.

Tho chairman statod it was impos eihlo for tho growers to get more than 2d por pound at auction for tho best npplns. Thcio wero more apples grown loeaily than were needed. Hβ thought tho high rents and wages tho fruiterers had to pay had something to do with tho donriuxK of fruit.

llr Ilubbaid said tlwro was no propor communication between grower and consumer. A municipal market was tho only remedy. The growers getting Id per pound for their produce, and iho consumer paying fid, indicated that there was something obviously wrong in tho system of distribution. Either tho shopkeepers wero paying too high rents, cr else they were making enormous profits. The former, ho thought, was tho case. If the growers got 03 por case at auction,they Imd to pay 10 per cent, commission, and give in tho case, which meant that on 401b of fruit they lost a shilling. The chairman indicated the probable effect of admitting Taemanian fruit froe of duty, by dating that n couplo of rpsismis ago, thousands of casea of applrs wero sent ov-er from Tasmania to WeJlingtuji, to bo sold, and yi<i!deO nothing for cither the auctioneer or tho grower. They averaged 3s or -Js por 401b ca,*e, and Jd per lb duty, and 1:1 per lb erst of handling had to come off. FO that th*)r«'H:uk nothing left after paying tho And yet apples were still 6rl por 1!> in YWlliiYjrtflii.. Mr Duroy: '1 supporr the Cliiuamen v.-ho run tho trado in Wellington mako a clear profit of -kl per !!>/'

}!r E. Wilkinson said the business of fniit-eollimi was a voi? easy one to go into, am] there wore too many in it. Fair (stands cost £■•"> a week, an<l with a limited turnover, hi;*h charges hail to l;o levird in order to make- both ends meet. There, wero Jjetwe-en fifty and sixty fruit shops in Ch-ristchurcn. No matter whether fruit (wholesale) was sold cheaply, tho public got very 1i1t!..----benefit, ami th« same thing * would happen if the duty were, taken off. .»lr W. Gilbert said that after 33 years' experience, he estimated that with rents, breakages, and decay tho retailer lost 3-3 per cont. of the value of his fruit before ho could got it to tho public. Tho demand was'confined to iirst quality fruit, ami ho invariably threw away enough ot the second quality to kc-ep thrco families going. In ca.ses of tho best, dessert apples, thoro wero very fow tlwtt Mould bring Od per li>; others brought -kl. 3i, and id. If imported fruit wero admitted tree, the retailers would do letter, but the local growers would b<? kiikd. *'We shall never got cheap fruit in Ohristchurch until wo havo chea-per means of distribution," the. syeakor conduded.

In reply to a question by Mr Gray. tho chairman stated that growers were now going in ir.ore for '"keeping" sorts of apples. .Much of their fruit would keep until November, and that was why thc-y p.skt-d that the duty should b» e.vteiuled until the end of* August. Ho thought., in view of the fruit fly post, that the Government should en-

sure that th© inspection of fruit coming into ihe colony was rigorously attended to. Mr Hwbbard said the present system of inspection was a farce. If the colony was to be kept free of insect and fungoid pests, they must prohibit lU.portation. Another member stated that "keeping -, varieties of apple* wore now largely grown. His firm had 200 cases which' would not be fit to placo on the j'arkct until September. In reply to Mr Gray, Mr Allington remarked that the growers asked for Jovornment protection only as a temporary expedient. They .hoped to do vvithout it when the industry was properly established. Mr Fitch said there wae plenty of good fruit in -Now Zealand. Tho high prices were due to faulty distribution, dear land, and dear labour. If the duty were removed, no ono would gain any advantage. A duty of id per lb would not keep out Tasmanian fruit, as it coat New Zealand growers all that to send their fruit from one centre to another. .Mr W'itham pointed out that if Australian grapes only were admitted free, that would spoil the demand for other varieties of softer local fruit. Mr liuddo said the meeting had made out a strong case, by showing that if the local fruit-growing industry were btrangled, the public would have to pay through tho nose for its fruit, anil it. was duo from the people to see that tho industry was fostered to the extent at least of assuring that they themselves wero not robbed. The State should give the industry protection to see. it orer tho cx]K?riinental stages. The speaker was in favour of continuing the presont protection for lour or five years, when it -would bo in a position "of fearing no outside competition. The duty should bo arranged on a sliding sca'lo, so that tho community might obtain an advantage from imported fruit when tho local supply was smallest. All tho arguments advanced during the evening pointed towards the establishment of a municipal market. Mr Davey said lie could only repeat his former "promise—namely, to do hie best to conserve the growers' interest while not killing tho shopkeepers. He thought a municipal market would not be of much good to the individual who -wanted a pound of, fruit. Mr Witty said neither the producer nor the- consumer was getting fair play. New Zealand -was competing against countries which held climatic and labour advantages. The people wanted cheap fruit, but not cheap labour, and therefore the industry should be protected to a certain extent. Bootmakers, clothiers, end other trades wero protected, and the fruit-growers should bo also. What was the use, ho asked, in tho Government spending thousands of pounde on experimental stations if it was going to let outaido fruit in free. He doubted if a municipal market would benefit the growers much. They wanted, however, to do without the middleman, who at present wes coming between the producers and tho consumers, to the disadvantage of both. .Mr Gray said there were two points of primary importance, namely, the questions of protection and distribution. Ho was in favour of protection of the industry for a number of years, until it was firmly established. He w«s opposed to giving preference to the products of cheap labour from the other aide. Now Zealanders should protect their own industries even at a alight personal sacrifice. He promised that if there were any tariff revision this year ho would do Tiis best to further the interests of the fruitgrowers. Tho meeting concluded with a hearty vote of thanks to the- members of Parliament for their presence and adv cc.