WINDFALL APPLES

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23586, 13 March 1942, Page 8

WINDFALL APPLES

Sir,—"The Press" deserves the sinv cerest thanks for exposing the insanity ' ii which exists in regard to the wastage ■Vi of fruit, especially apples, of which ipeople are in need of and anxious to buy. The National Council of Women .1 and the Christchurch branch of the ’■•i New Zealand Women’s Food Value ■ League passed the following resolution:—"That this meeting . . . protest against the threatened and unnecessary wastage of apples, and urges that all laws and regulations which prohibit i: orchardists selling second-grade fruit . cheaply to the people shall be immedi,:i ately suspended, and that such suspen--4‘ sion shall last for the duration of the il war." The resolution to be forwarded to the Minister for Marketing. Now that such important bodies, in--41 eluding the Progress League, are at work to amend the situation, I hope : .Vi that other organisations will act like- ':! wise and act quickly, bringing pressure iTvi to bear on the Minister for Marketing, ■ijii thereby demonstrating that the •4 people’s will shall prevail—Yours, :V,i etc., ■:?; ELSIE L. ST. JOHN. % March 11. 1942. || si r _The answer the Progress •i t t League received from the Minister ''ft with reference to windfall apples was r " what growers would expect. We knew f | the interests of the Internal Marketf:ijj ing Department would be placed first, if* This parasitical concern was created, i like other State departments, to solve !/M the unemployment problem. It renif! ders no service, but does much harm. (Lt Last year’s crop was so mismanaged IW! ■ that it was almost impossible to purify.. chase a sound line of apples after the fyi first week of September. The Minister stated that the loss on apples last year H was £420,000. but he did not include i'.’ij the fruit given to schools. The total till loss when everything was considered A was at least £500,000, a most unrea,*li sonable amount. The technique M'M lowed by the Government regarding ']?'■ these control schemes is too well lit: known for me to explain ;—Y ours, etc., fy ’ E. FREEMAN. March 10, 1942. 'll! •i J Sir.—Your leading article about armies in "The Press” to-day is very m. timely. Mr Barclay s excuse to the fyl Progress League that he had to con- % suit his officers is all humbug. The 'it circumstances have been threshed out V?.; innumerable times with sickening reiffrl suits to growers and the public. The *.£;■! department quite decided months ago fe’i that this fruit was to be destroyed so that it could sell less for more. Most of this fruit, it sold within three weeks, would be much better quality than 90 per cent.- of over-kept, •,saj cool store fruit which collapses m a 'M te You J su'ggcst a special purchase tor ’bj the militarv camps. This is absurd )•;, ] The Interna! Marketing Department i-A is the government and docs not sell to the' Army or actually to itself, for jfy] the brokers to collect 10 per cent, lor [pnothing. , K'c As the result of Government con- .) trol of the fruit, the public have been t'■■■,■ deprived of good food, while 118 acres P; ::< of orchard in Rangiora alone and many 1 ; i acres in Loburn have been aban(toned. Yours, r }.■ \ Rangiora, March 11, 1942.