EXPORT OF APPLES.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18265, 26 December 1924, Page 14

EXPORT OF APPLES.

REVIEW OF PAST SEASON.

PACKING AND HANDLING.

(raou oim ow>- coßHEsroxcsxT. LGXDOX, November V!. Now ihxi all last season's Zealand apples have been disposed of, and the producers are preparing for the next shipments to this country, it eeem.s an opportune time to reriiw the industry.

During this past year New Zealand apples Lave- averaged "Is per case more tuan any other imported apple. In addition, the fruit has had a great derl more .advertisement. Indeed, it is fairly safe to s-ay that the demand lias b?en greater tban the supply. At the I'avilion at "Wembley 9000 cases have been passed direct to the consumer, and ao the bulk of these were suid in s-irgle fruits or Is bags, t):c number o; people made acqujiiited with Xow Zealand apples ha 3 been very large, it is estimated that over 300,000 people have been supplied direct this year, and according to Mr T. AY. Attwood, who was responsible for the retail trade done at Wembley, some of the highest praise received has been from representative m»n, glowers and exporters visiting tho Exhibition from Can-.idu, the United Mates, and Austmlia, and in some cases, these were, competitors. Although packing and grading liavo reached a fairly high skndjrd this yew:, Mr Attwood, whn is now thoroughly conversa.it with the conditions on this side, considers there is room for etill further improvement. Producers, he eays, have been too ready to blamo anv r.iul oveiy person or circumstance when the fruit has arrived in an unyi.tisfactory condition. Fruit is a living entity, .-.rid as yr.t we know very little its physiological composition. He maintains that an educational process needs to be inaugurated that will ensure more uniformity in the individual box. There is a, condition of maturity for every variety when, if transport conditions are favourable, if will not only wry safely, but will reach anv of the outside markets in the b"*t visible order. Perhaps the visht "condition" is to bo "sensed" rather than learned, and where casual labour is eirmloved, much stricter supervision is tiecessarv. 'if. is a vital woblem, the solution of which is fho first steo to fuceessful export. "Hannilv, the careless handling in the orchard " "save Mr Attwood. "is not a general complaint, but it is sufficiently in evidence to menace, the reputation of New Zealand fruit on the -export market. I have opened eases where the packing was m every war s«ii«faotorv and no amount of rough handling in transit, could possibly havo caused 'the" damage. There were five to as many as n oVir.en small bruises on each fruit, no to* or cfecay in most canes, but dried out like bits of dry sponge." Some of the Problems.

The fact that Mr Attwood has been far the largest buyer of New Zealand apples this year, and that, he has seen practically every case unpacked that cimo into the New Zealand Pavilion, has put. him .in a peculiarly advantageous position to study many problems. Ab :ill the legislation ever enacted or con temp'at-ed cannot prevent a* certain amount of rough handling once the case leaves the grower or shipper, the growers' object should be to pack tho produce in ouch a way as to ensure safe arrival whatever tho handling may be during transport. It is very seldom that any parcel is uniformly well packed, and should the buyer be ehown a badly packed case he promptly assesses tho whole parcel accordingly. So far as cases are concerned, Mr Attwood is of opinion tba,t California leads the way •with a" bulged box, wire bound, in which, the apples are merely wrapped in paper. No other packing material whatever is useo. Some of these packs Mr Attwood examined, and he failed to find any trace of damage either by packing or transport. "There is something positively uncanny," he <caya, "in the superiority of these packs compared with any of the next best reaching the English markets. If we enquire why it is we are beaten to some extent in this packing business, tho answer would seem to lie, not *o much in the larger and better equipped packing sheds, as in tho more careful handling generally, and the actual packing itself being in the hands of trained' packers only.

London Requires First Grade. "It cannot be too frequently urged that the London market requires from New Zealand first-grade apples only, perfectly packed, and such as will set and maintain tho standard of excellence for all Australian and New Zealand fruit imported. Other States supply nil that is required of inferior packs and grades. There is, however, quite a. big demand for (rood fruit, say, like our good (;rade. in most of the provincial ports—Hull, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Bristol, Cardiff, and Southampton, and if it is decided to continue the export of a. secondgrade, these outside market* should have more consideration, always placing with each shipment a small proportion of choicest grade fruit." The London market does not require lnrgesised dessert apples—2Jin and CJin aro most in demand, and except for Cox's, Cleoa, aud Jonathans, 2Jin should be strictly adhered to as a minimum 6ize, with a maximum of 2Jin for all dessert varieties. The admntage of marking tho "size" instead of the "counts" has again been raised by some of the brokers, and although United Slates and Canada mark by "counts," tho Australian States all mark tiheir cases with the 3ize—9Jin, and so on. Merchants who handle New Zealand apples prefer tho Australian method.

"If the present system is tp continue," Mr Attwood Bay<r, "much, greater care must be observed. It is bad enough to have the case marked 150's and to find 188's inside; it is much worse to find 100's marked on the end of * case containing 340's, but when in addition to these blunders Dunns and Scarlets are marked. Delicious, it is nothing short of gross carelessness. Inefficiency of this character is inexcusable. It is not confined to one shipper or even one district, and is much too Prevalent to be overlooked, and if not remedied will damage the reputation of New Zealand fruit."

Cox's and Delicious. All reasonable cans seems to have been. taken in the packing of Cox's this season, but several oi the shipments were in bad condition on arrival. Mr Altwood maintains that the damage is dono through the fruit not being properly prc-coolcd. Cox's are packed uunng the hottest month, and if given to the ship at orchard tempemture, about three weeks would elapse before the temperature of the fruit all through tie chamber is reduced to 31 degrees. This is too slow a process for a tender variety like this. Tho fruit requires to bo pre-ccolefl and kept 000 l at the earliest possible moment after 'packing, and at no point must tho fruit be allowed to rise in temperature if it is to reach the London market in the right condition. Some sound Cox's from the Oorintbio and Cornwall shipments were kept in the show casa at "VVembley at a temperature of 40 F. for nearly threo months. The Delicious variety is likely to be second only in popularity to tho Cox's. This iust season, however, the specimens of this variety were too large in many cases. There w*s also a tendency to over-ripeness, and n dry and floury Delicious is hardly worth eating. Quite a number, however, were fairly Tight, and the colour was really good ail through. After these had been sold in email quantities at Wembley, there was a general demand for them by the case—orders which it. vrae not wise to fill because of the overripe and wasty condition of the fruit.

Superintending the Market. "A knowledge of the varieties we ship, their suitableness ior further transport or further cool storing, a good understanding of marketing conditions and sound: judgment," says Mr Attwood, "must all be brought to bear at any moment at the marketing end ■when the situation requires adjusting. This form of control would bo welcomed by the brokers, who would act in consultation with the control and bring to bear on the situation a life's experience. Only brokers of repute shxmld be employed, who over a period of years, not one season, have rendered faithful and efficient service. To substitute for the present marketing arrangements the establishment of an organisation for the. sale of all New Zealand fruit would bo courting disaster. M present, at any rate, it- is not a practical proposition, nor could the industry carry the coat. "But it is sound business to hav? the growers' own representative- on the spot to watch the interests of the individual grower and the industry as a whole, to confer with the brokers, report on shipments, and arrange and' conduct advertising propaganda. These are binong tho most important ways in which the industry may be served and the export stabilised."

Brokers' Advantage. l£y investigations from time to time amonif the fruit brokers have made it perfectly evident that they are well pleased to have a representative of the growers alwajs at hand during -the season. Naturally, the brokers are relieved considerably by Lis presence. In the first place, he takes "an interest in the unloading, and" makes a cartful eiamina-

(Continued at foot of next column.)

iion of tlie cargo. In the absence of a. grcwera' representative misunderstandings might cj-sily arise. Suppose a. shipment waa landed in bid condition, and the brokers complained or their bills of sale showed little or lio profit to tho growers, tho.latter not unnaturally would be inclined to biame the brokers. With a growers' representative to report on each brand thcrr, is' no risk of the broker beinj unjustifiably binned. Over ax:d above this, however, the growers' representative will be believed by the grower when he paeses on complaints that are obviously justified. Xow thdt the American supplies are arriving over a longer period, it is necessary to have someone to watch, this produce ami the produce from Australia and Tasmania, to see exactly -what is being done by tnese iruit exporting countries, and to eee that our own fruit is placed on the market ill a. better condition than that ol any other country. Another bcrvice that Mr Attwood has made himself responsible for does not really interest. tho individual fruit-grower, but it is of inestimable value to the Dominion, and fits been greatly appreciated by the High Commissioner. y&turally, " anyone who wishes to know the possibilities of fruitgrowing in the Dominion, applies to the High Commissioner's Office, and Mr Attwood iiis been able to give expert -advice to a large number of enquirers. At Xew Zealand House he lias had 128 specially arranged interviews during this last 6®ason, and 240 interviews at the Jfew Zealand Pavilion at Wembley. Men representing a capital or" £35,000 have definitely made up their minds to go oiu to the Dominion to take up fni it-growing, but none go out without knowing exactly the difficulties that lie before them. Mr Attwood leaves for Xew Zealand Uday by tho. Port Albany, which satin L>v way of the Cape of Good Hope.