Freeze cools Gravenstein prices at Chch auction

Press, 21 January 1983, Page 2

Freeze cools Gravenstein prices at Chch auction

Good and bad news for apple-lovers has emerged at the Christchurch produce markets.

Yesterday was the first time that price controls were imposed for the coming season by the Apple and Pear Board. Apple prices usually increase slightly each season but they will be no dearer this year because of the Government price freeze. Gravensteins were the first apples that started selling at fixed prices on the market floor yesterday.

Earlier and smaller varieties such as Irish Peach and Scarlet Pimpernel are now selling in shops. As these are sold by auction at the start of each season before board controls are introduced, they are exempt from freeze regulations. “Their prices have been quite a bit higher than last year,” a local board spokesman said. Bad hailstorms had resulted in slightly smaller crops and demand for apples was great.

Fortunately, another bad hailstorm on Wednesday evening had not hit the main apple-growing areas at Loburn and Belfast although some Halswell growers had been affected.

This year’s first load of Californian grapefruit will arrive in a shipment of citrus fruit due at Lyttelton next week. The small quantity among the cargo of oranges and lemons will be followed by other grapefruit imports to last New Zealanders until their next season starts in March.

At present only the large and sometimes bitter-tasting

wheeney grapefruit is available locally. The berryfruit season is at its peak, and the supply of both strawberries and raspberries is more plentiful than in previous years. Prices at the market have held steady during the last few weeks, strawberries fetching between $l7 and $24 a tray and raspberries $l3 to $13.80. A new crop of blueberries, the result of a recent venture by several local growers, has proved popular with consumers. These small, dark fruit are plentiful and trays of them fetched between $l5 and $l9. ,

Fruit preservers would be wise to do their buying during the next two weeks, when the stone-fruit season is due to peak. Peaches are already

plentiful as fruit from local sources has been supplemented by large quantities from Central Otago. Buyers at the market paid up to $2O for a half-case of Morepark peaches, and other varieties such as Newcastle and Reds fetched between $l3 and $l6. Although apricots are gradually becoming more plentiful, they are still in reasonably short supply. Many varieties of nectarines are in the shops this summer, and are generally of a higher quality than in previous years. Earlier this week half-cases of nectarines sold for up to $lB, but yesterday prices fell to between $lO and $l6.

Mangoes from Australia and Fiji are now plentiful, and trays of these sold for between $25 and $3O. Three other exotic fruits — avocadoes, rock melons and kiwifruit — are also still freely available. Christchurch has no shortage of most vegetables. Wholesale celery prices ranged from $2 to $9.50 a case, and lettuces sold for between 15c and 25c each. Bags of cauliflowers fetched between $2 and $lO, and cabbages $3 to $5. The price of courgettes has eased to between $2 and $9 a case. Beans of the green, butter, and runner varieties are now coming on to the market in increasing numbers. North Island buttercup pumpkins and Nelson tomatoes are also plentiful in Christchurch, the latter vegetable selling for between $4 and $B.BO a 4.5 kg box.

This week’s recipe OVEN-COOKED APPLE SLICES 3 large apples 1 tbspoon lemon juice 1 tbspoon golden syrup "a cup waler 2 tbspoons sugar 2 extra tbspoons sugar Method: Peel, core and slice apples thinly into an ovenware dish. Heat together the water, lemon juice, sugar and syrup and pour over apples. Sprinkle remaining two tablespoons sugar over the apples. Bake in a moderate oven for an hour. Serve hot or cold.