Passionfruit surplus

Press, 12 March 1985, Page 6

Passionfruit surplus

PA Tauranga Bay of Plenty passionfruit growers are selling in New Zealand fruit valued at thousands of dollars to prevent further flooding of the United States market. Many passionfruit-export-ing companies are refusing to send passionfruit to the west coast of the United States. They fear more exports would depress export prices. A bumper growing season and early harvests have ex-

acerbated the export problems. The chairman of the Passionfruit Growers’ Association, Mr Roy Fisher, of Aongatete, near Tauranga, said the difference between export prices and the local market price would cost Bay of Plenty growers thousands of dollars. He said a tray of 34 export passionfruit would fetch about $lO on the United States market but growers would get only a

$2.30 return from a local sale. Two exporting companies will begin exports to the United States again this week. One company stopped exporting last week while the other stopped exports about two weeks ago. Both companies emphasised that the halt had nothing to do with New Zealand’s row with the United States over the nuclear arms issue.