FRUIT MARKETING

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 131, 30 November 1933, Page 19

FRUIT MARKETING

OLD SYSTEM WANTED

NELSON GROWERS' ATTITUDE

(Special to the "Evening Post.")

NELSON, November 29.

The overseas fruit-niarlcetiug P1'0' posals for 1934 have aroused great interest throughout the Nelson, fruit growing areas, and large meetings of the Fruit Growers' Associations in different parts of the district have been held to discuss them. The handling of the fruit exported to England last season by one firm of brokers only has been severely criticised, and resolutions have been passed requesting the- .Control Board to revert to the old system pf a panel of reliable "brokers. With prospects of another heavy crop of l; 000,000 cases of fruit for export this season the matter is one. of great-import- ' anco to the province. The poor returns to growers last season, placed many in serious financial^ difficulties, so serious in fact that the Minister of Agriculture' has been requested" to .yisit the district in order to confer with growers w.ith a view to adopting such measures as will enable many orchardists to: carry ■. on. The latest meeting,, that of the Redwoods Valley, passed'the, following re^ solutions:—(l) That this association; after careful examination, cannot agree to a continuance of any contract with Goodwins, and desires a return. to the marketing policy as existing in tlio United Kingdom in 1932 immediately, with the same brokers as in 1932. (2) This association is strongly of the opinion that the continuation of the single agency system for our entire export wll speedily destroy fruit control. The financing of the industry by brokers' advances will displace the guarantee, ,and entail loss of distributing powers, and will render the Fruit Control Board uneconomical and unnecessary. (3) That as the board has had no definite Continental policy for tho past two seasons, wo suggest that negotiations be opened with a view to returning to the 1931 Continental distributing scheme with amendments to meet .present.conditions, as this appears to* be the only system which will ensure the sale of large sizes.