FRUIT INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 96, 18 January 1924, Page 10

FRUIT INDUSTRY

MEETING OF NEW ZEALAND FEDERATION COOL TEMPERATURES TO BE STUDIED A FREIGHT REDUCTION A meeting of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation was held on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Dominion Farmers’ Institute. The president (Mr. T. W. Attwood) presided, and there were also present: Messrs. A, M. Robertson (Hawke’s Bay), J. Allan and T. C. Brash (Nelson), H. S. Izard (Auckland), F. W. Coul (Canterbury), and H. Turner (Otago). Mr. W, T. Goodwin, of the Horticultural Division of the Agricultural Department, was also in attendance. The estimates received showed that 225,000 cases of apples would be shipped from the Dominion during the export season. Of this quantity 175,000 cases would go to England, and tho balance, 50,000 cases, to South America. The president (Mr. W. I. Attwood)' left for England by the s.s. Port Kembla on Wednesday, his place, being taken by Mr. A. M. Robertson, who will preside over the federation, during Mr. Attwood’s absence. Mr. Attwood’s main duties in England will consist of supervising the display of New Zealand, fruit at the British Empire Exhibition. This exhibit will include both fresh and preserved fruits. Messrs. Thompson and Hill, of Auckland, and'’Messrs. Kirkpatrick, of Nelson, are dombimng to put up a comprehensive exhibit of preserved fruits from the Dominion, part of which has already, gone forward. The fresh fruit exhibit at tho exhibition will be taken by Mr. Attwood from shipments arriving from New Zealand, so that it will be a genuine sample of what New Zealand is sending to the London market. Telegrams were received from Otago sating that the recent gales had done considerable damage to the fruit crops in Central Otago, and this will probably have the effect of reducing the fruit crop surplus for export. The meeting decided to set up a. committee to .go into the question of temperatures in connect ion with thecflJ'riage of fruit overseas. The committee will include a biologist, a chemist, a refrigerating engineer from one of the cool steres in the Dominion, and. the Director of the Horticultural Division of the Agricultural Department, and they will consider the report of the Cambridge University Research Committee. and generally deal, with matters in regard to refrigeration. The federation lias received notification of a reduction in the freight of fruit shipped to Montevideo for the coming season to 3s. 6d. per case, plus ten per cent.