A LOST MARKET

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 65, 14 September 1936, Page 10

A LOST MARKET

NEW ZEALAND'S EMBARGO

VISIT OF PRODUCERS "The growers of New South Wal< felt yery keenly the loss of a marki which they had established with tlDominion so many years ago, and tl" pioneers of. the industry, many of who: are still actively associated as produ ers, are hopeful that something ma be done to reopen the trade," sai : Brigadier-Gtrieral J. Heane, a pr minent orchardist of New South Wal< and president of the Fruitgrower Federation of New South Wales, wh< with Colonel E. E. Herrod, secretary < the federation, and Mr, P. S. Macde . mott, a member of the council of th New South Wales Chamber of ' Fru and Vegetable Industries, arrived froi Sydney today by the Marama to di cuss fruit matters generally with th several sections of the industry in Ne1 Zealand. In an interview, General Heane sai he was hopeful that some personal di cussions might result in improve trade relations between New Zealan and New South Wales, as there wei several varieties \of fruit, notabj ' oranges and mandarins, which wei almost at a premium in New Ze; land yet were available in New Sout Wales in plentiful supply, and cons< ! quently at prices within the reach < every purse. General Heane expresse regret that the continuance of the en bargo should not only deprive Nei , South Wales growers from enjoying th friendly business relationship that ha existed for so many years, but that should also deprive the New Zealan public from securing^ ample supplic of fruit at reasonable prices. , New South Wales produced ove,r 6 per cent, of Australia's oranges," an over 80 per cent, of its mandarins. The State of the Commonwealth was in position to supply oranges over a lon period of the year through having th bulk of the production of the lat Valencia variety, which was availabl in plentiful supply from September t March. At the present time, the Syc ney open market prices were such a would allow of oranges to be lande< in New Zealand, and to reach the cor suming public at from Is to Is 6d pc dozen, and mandarins from 6d to Is. SMALLER QUANTITY, HIGHER COST. The cost of the embargo against Nev South Wales fruit to the New Zealani public in regard to oranges alone wa demonstrated by the fact that in 193 Australian oranges were more plenti ful and cheaper than in 1935. In 193 the total exports from all Australia) States were 223,631 bushels at a tota cost of £134,178 (estimated on a sellihj price of 12s per bushel), whilst in 193; the number of' bushels was 163,146 which, at a selling price of 18s, cos the retailers £146,831." From Aus tralian sources, alone the New Zealant public received 60,485 bushels less, bu paid £ 12.653 more, which meant, tha for a quantity 27 per cent, less a cos 9 per cent, higher was paid. ■ Owing to the large- production o. mandarins, oranges, and other fruit; in New South' Wales, and due to Syd ney being the point of departure foi Australian shipping bound for the Dominion, itbecame obvious that these products could be supplied at a considerably lower rate than from othei sources. . ■ That the supply of oranges available to the New Zealand public during the last few years was considerably less than was required was evident by the attempts to. introduce the fruit from various other. sources, including the West Indies. Unlike the product from New South Wales, which had always been sold oh' consignment, most oi these introductions had .been released at a fixed price, which resulted in a much higher price to the consumer An examination of available official figures seemed to indicate that last year an equivalent to an approximate 26,000 bushels were landed from the West Indies at a landed cost of 15s. In the absence of supplies from "New South Wales • retailers, in order to secure supplies of oranges, appeared to have purchased at from 30s to 35s The margin between the landed cosi and the price to the retailer might, oi course, be justified, but it showed thai this one transaction cost the New Zealand consumers something like £46,000, It should' thus be apparent that any attempt to establish a more favourable trade balance by restricting purchases of New South Wales fruit must be accompanied by an extra taxation of the fruit-eating public of New Zealand. PRODUCING AREAS. Mr. Macdermott, (who' is also chairman of the fruit section of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce and president of the New South Wales Citrus Export Association, said that at the present time New- Zealand would only allow the importation of oranges from South Australia. The total acreage planted in oranges and mandarins in Australia was 46,342, made up as follows:—New South Wales, 29,068 (62.7 per cent.); Victoria, 5814 (12.5 per cent.); South Australia, 4896 (10.6 per cent.); Queensland, 3424 (7.4 per cent.); West Australia, 3140 (6.8 per cent). T0ta1,'46,342. It would thus be seen that South Australia has only 10 per cent, of the total plantings of Australia, and navel oranges comprised #0 per cent, of South Australia's production, very few mandarins being grown in that State. Valencia oranges, which were available from September to March, were also grown mostly in New South Wales and Victoria. The existing embargo by New Zealand thus.prevented the New Zealand consumer from obtaining cheap navel oranges during the months of June to September, and with the exception of a few cases from South Australia, meant that mandarins* were unobtainable. In the case of the warmer months, from September to March, instead of cheap Valericias of excellent quality from New "South Wales, the only oranges, available to New Zealanders were high-priced' South Australian navels in September and October and imported: oranges from Jamaica and the U.S.A. from November to March, also at high values." , The embargo was placed on Australian fresh fruits by New Zealand on the grounds of the danger of the introduction of Mediterranean fruit fly. The Australian and New South Wales Governments had the power and were willing to enforce regulations that would > prevent any infected fruit from leaving New South Wales, and that this can be done was confirmed by resolutions passed at the conference of pathologists, entomologists, and other scientific officers held at Canberra in 1933-34 at which New Zealand was represented by Dr. Cunningham. „ It should also be mentioned that New Zealand imported fruit from New South Wales for over 40 years. The fact that the fly was not introduced into New Zealand during that period should in itself be sufficient evidence that precautions taken by the Austftilian authorities were an efficient safeguard. . All fruit sent to New Zealand in the past was fumigated before dispatch. Less than half of 1 per cent, of sranges grown were infected by fruit ly in Australia, while other fruits prolibited entry by the embargo were iot hosts for the fly. Mr. Macdermott intends while in VewZealand to make contact witb.-all

° interests concerned with a view to im- - proving the existing conditions, and he expressed the hope that it will not be . long before the trade that once existed , will again be resumed between the sister British Dominions in the Pacific.