THE FRUTT TRADE.

Evening Star, Issue 16847, 24 September 1918, Page 6

THE FRUTT TRADE.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—“ Bang went aaxpence!” was a thought uppermost in my .mind last evening after I had purchased a pound of apples, to say nothing of the Oliver Twist impression with which I contemplated my tiny purchase, which is generally understood to contain splendid health-giving qualities. I could not help wondering why the public have not. been enlightened as to the reason? why the consumers of apples grown in Otago have to pay 400 per cent, more, for their fruit than the grower receives for his product. In tlyo season the orchardbt has to sell his apples at 5s per case. The consumer walks into a fruit shop in Dunedin to-day, and receives one pound of apples for his sixpeno? or two pounds for his “ colonial robert.” This is the method by which the retailer disposes of the largest amount of his fruit. A case weighs 4(Mo, and at 6J per lb brings in a- return of 20s per case. The retailer apparently blames the orchardist, while the latter is evidently under the impression that fortunes are being made by the retailers.

This is the position i The grower does not receive an adequate return for his labor; the mn-jority of consumers have to ]X!v a price that makes “the appls a day that keeps the doctor awav ” a. mere figment of the imajpnation. On whoso shoulders lies the bhime for this ridiculous state of affairs? In my opinion it is the business community generally. On one point co-operation is badly needed. Let mo cite the fact; Otago apples are railed to Christchurch, kept, in a cold store nt a chargo of lOd per case per month, and are then railed back to Da nod in to be fold in out auction marts. This is symptomatic of onr lack of method in dealing with many of onr primary products. Perhaps the Chamber of Commerce. Mnnufrctnrers’ Association, and Expansion League might take the above question up And 'deal with it to edvantage.— l sin, etc., W. Sttjjlkt Wilson". SootembfT 24.

TO THE EDITOR. Kir.—Evidently the Dunedin fruiterers have ’done so well in tho past by selling Cent nil-grown fruit that they can now afford to do without it. This is the impression one gathers from reading their replies to correspondence in tbo Press. One would rl.ink they owned the orchardista. and that without their permission growers must not alter present busineps methods. A nice slate of affairs, isn’t itf The truth is they are all loth to lose thq cheques they have been making out of the sale of 'free cases. They do not consider the yearly rising expenses of the orchardist or tbo risks ho has to run, etc, Although tlie growers never asked them to pay more for their fruit, but only a ■part cost of the package, they make a great fuss. Quite a number of them have tho. Central growers to thank for their present comfortable position, and this is all the thanks the latter get. But what have the auctioneers to do

,vith this dispute ? One would think that rhev would have the grower’s interests at heart, considering that they get 19 per cent, and more for selling his products ; but now it reems two of them have joined forces with the fruiterers, so that grower* will hardly be able to reconcile the stats* meats so 'often made by them that they only considered the grower, who really was their bread and butter.

The proposal to start barrowmen is an excellent one, and I commend it to the Patriotic Association, as it would be a lucrative occupation for some of our returned soldiers unfitted for other _ work through wounds, etc. The fruiterer* would” -possibly offer no objection, ns they state that there would be ample suppfle* of fruit available for them from other districts ; and I am sure they will be very pleased to see the public sotting the products of Oniral Otago at a reasonable price. Then, again, look how it would educate the public to oat more fruit.—l am, etc., Cheap Fnrrix. September 24.