CANNED FRUIT IMPORTS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27191, 7 November 1953, Page 5

CANNED FRUIT IMPORTS

CABINET ADOPTS BOARD’S RECOMMENDATION (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 5. Imports of canned apricots, peaches, and pears may be made from softcurrency sources without import licences, but the British preferential duty on them has been increased from 25 per cent to 30 per cent This decision was announced today by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr J. T. Watts). No change was to take place in the import duties on other canned fruits which were already exempt from licensing on soft-currency sources, he said. Nor were the duties to be charged on fruit pulp and other products included in tariff item 38-'which remain under import licensing. The necessary tariff amendments and the import decontrol notice were gazetted tonight. The Minister said that one of the earliest tariff inquiries by the Board of Trade, held in August last year, related to fruit pulp, canned fruits, and jams. The board’s recommendations on both jams and cfanned fruits had involved international trade commitments, arid required consultations with other governments. It was still not possible to make a decision on jams. However, as the Government desired to announce the canned fruit decision before the forthcoming canning season, the board’s report as it related to those x products was now being released.

The Government’s decision on canned fruits was in accord with the board’s recommendations, said the Minister. He added that the definition of fruit pulp and other goods coming within tariff item 38 was'to be altered •to include sweetened as well as unsweetened products.