FRUIT EXPORT.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19971, 4 July 1930, Page 18

FRUIT EXPORT.

AUSTRALIAN QUALITY. room fob improvement. (noir o*"* conMepojrojHfJ SYDNEY, June 23. As Australian fruit reaches the English market at the same time a# New Zealand fruit, the Dominion is bound to be interested in the Australian export season that has just closed. It is stated here that for'quality New Zealand has been in the lead. Year by year the conditions governing the export of fruit from Australia have been tightened, but it would seem that the standard has not yet reached that attained by New Zealand. Australians regard it as unfortunate that during the current season reports have been received from London reflecting on the quality of some of the consignments. Some of the complaints have been far from flattering. They include such terms as "overripe and wasty" pears, and apples that have been described as "prematurely picked, poorly graded, bruised, shrivelled, spotted, dull in colour and slack packed." These are damaging statements, and it ig natural that growers should deplore that these "tactless, ill-informed, and damaging statements" should Appear in the Press. However, if there is any justification for them, and there surely is, they may serve a useful purpose—and make Australia, a real rival to NewZealand in the matter of the fruit trade.

In recent years active and energetic measures have been taken to ensure that only the best quality fruit should be unpacked overseas. The Council of Industrial and Scientific Research is busily engaged in investigations on the <ciontific side; growers are competing among themselves for quality; a small army of fruit inspectors examines shipments: gieat pains are taken on the voyage to ensure the proper refrigeration; and at the other end officials are always on the wateh. Unless there is some carelessness it does not seem possible that reason should be given for complaints. It is generally agreed that although tba reports may be taetless they are not altogether ill-informed, and they are certainly damaging. There is undoubtedly room for improvement, with all parties working in closer co-opera-tion. The care taken with the butter exports is even more pronounced than it is with fruit, yet eomplaints regarding Australian butter are still frequent and serious.

PRIVATE CODE WORDS. DEFECTS IN CATALOGUES. (TOOK OtTB OWM COUUiSVOVDBKT.) LONDON, May 30. The Board of Trade Journal states that H.M. Trade Commissioner in New Zealand has drawn attention to certain defects which exist in the construction of private code words in the catalogues of many British firms, making them Irapossible to use in connexion with ooded telegrams in which two code words of five letters are combined in one group of ten letters. The first defect mentioned by Mr Paish is the use of suchoodewords a« "Abject," "Abscond," "Acrostic, and, in fact, all wordß containing more than five letter#. The second is the use of five-letter code words without the appropriate number of vowels or even without any vowels at all "BKHRH," "SWMNW," "QMPHW." Such words without vowels may not be combined to form a single code word of ten letters, but are charged at the tate of five letters to a word. In order to ensure that all the fiveletter code words in a catalogue can be combined into ten-letter groups chargeable as single words, they shonld each contain two vowels, e.g., Abcan, "Naboo," "Drapy," etc. The economy which results from conforming to the ten-letter code system for tele grams to such distant markets as New Zealand is obvious.

SYDNEY SHARE MARKET.

Towards the end of last -week: » slight improvement In the volume of transaction* on the Stock Exchange resulted in • steady Ink of quotation!, which had earlier shown a narked tendency to recede to lower lo*els, writes "Mentor" In tha "Sydney Mall ot June 25th. It is said that the new tariff schedule had something to do with the partial recovery, and those with strong protectionist leanings may have soma reason for believing that the tldo of prosperity Is about to turn in our favour. For my own part I eannot see It, as. with our national Income so greatly reduced, the buying power of the publlo is hardly aufflefent to warrant any optimistic hopes for the Immediate future. Partly because no mention was made In the schedule o? any further exactions in tha way of excise duties on beer, the principal brewery stooks came in for a fair amount of attention, Tooth, Tooheyn, and Oarlton all registering advances. Fluctuations, however, are bound to occur in an unstable market, especially as speculative operators are active in endeavouring to make good their loss of Income in other directions by profit-taking in dealing. The preference that many investors show for bank shares resulted In an increased turnover, and higher prices were paid for some stoeks. ■' In past years the principal inducement to buy bank shares was the opportunity afforded for subscribing to new issues of oapitsl on favourable terms. Such occasions are not likely to be frequent while the depression lasts, and the returns will therefore be limited to yields from dividends. To what extent the latter will be affected by the future operations of the Commonwealth Bank, in the event of the Governments proposals being carried into effect, cannot be predicted with any degree of ocouracy; but the competition, if it comes about, will certainly not make matters easier for the trading banks.

WOOL MARKETING.

"NO DESPERATE REMEDIES." Sir Graham Waddell, chairman o£ the Auitralian Wool Growers' Council, is convinced that the only way to Improve the wool position is by lowering the costs of producing wool "I cannot agree (be Mid) that eo-operative marketing or • pooling system offers the way out as far as this industry is concerned. The whole subject of wool marketing was thoroughly discussed in Brisbane by the Australian Wool Growers' Council, which agreed that the adoption of any scheme which had as its basis the artificial fixation of prices, or ignored the law of supply and demand, would not be in the best Interests of the wool-growing industry." The meeting was attended by delegates from all the fanners' organisations, as well as the grasiers' associations, in all the States, ana represented CO per cent, of the wool-growers of Australia. "Faulty marketing did not bring about the slump in wool prices, and I am among those who believe thr.i wool is better marketed in Australia then any other big primary produot in the werid. "We are agreed that our wool marketing can be improved in certain directions, more particularly by careful regulation of offerings through established channels, together with scientific research and publicity, and perhaps through co-ordination of offerings in Australia. Britain, South Africa, and New Zealand. Probably the established channels can be put to still better us* but we desire to retain those channels-—we cannot see how a pool would work better, or ss well, or, for the matter of that, 'work' at all. "It is also our emphatic opinion that to restore tho wool industry .to • sane economic footing costs must be got down all round The Australian Governments could help here by striving to reduce taxation and transport enarges, by readjusting the tariff to Australian pastoral conditions, and by endeavouring to establish a sane* industrial outlook. "Our wool problem Is acute," «ir Graham admitted, "hut w* who are in control of marketing are certainly not disposed to try iesperate •emedlea.**