COLONIAL ORCHARDISTS

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 88, 15 April 1913, Page 6

COLONIAL ORCHARDISTS

HOW THEY FARE IN LONDON

(Sydney Telegraph Correspondent.) LONDON, Feb. 28. Some little .time ago there came to London to watch the sales at Covent- j .Garden the representative of some j fresh fruit interests in Australia. He j believed all was not well at Covent j Garden with Australia's produce, and j he proceeded with caution. He looked up one of the, leading agents, and told him that.his consignments would j be heavy in the ensuing season, with i a, good prospect of substantial increases from time to time. I "We are the firm," said the agent confidentially "to sell your fruit for you." "What about terms?" asked the Australian. "The usual terms. Five per cent. on sales, and 8d per case to cover the cost of handling." "How do you arrive at that Sd?" "Oh, easily!" The agent called a clerk, who made the cost of transferring the cases from the ship to Covent Garden up to 3d. A second clerk was summoned, and. he satisfactorily explained charges up to Sd. The agent, a little <li?<xxncorted, called for a third employee. The Australian laughed. "That will do," he said. "Shall we say od a: case? As a matter of fact I have worked it out, and find that it does cost 5d." The agent protested, but gave way when the Australian offered to place the fruit in Covent Garden himself. "Now," he said, ''about that 5 per cent, commission." ' "We cannot possibly reduce that," retnonstrated the agent with determination. "But you do reduce it to some people; and why not to me?" The agent • denied this, but was orer-ruled. Finally, he said: "Look hare, I'll tell you what we cam era: We will charge you nominally 5 per cant., and afterwards reduce you 2 per cent " . "Right," said the Australian. "You will make out a cheque upon ■each consignment, and make it payable to ray principals." "No; we cannot do that," said the ap|Snt unblushingly. "That would ruin our business. We will pay that 2 per cent, to you personally." The agent declined the bribe, and an agreement was reached that the /fruit was to be sold at 5 per cent. ' - .commission, less 2 per cent, refunded, and 5d for handling the cases. HOW IT, IS WORKED. This negotiation naturally did not Impress the Australian. He was still suspicious, and decided to attend the opening auction. The first consignment offered was 1~0 cases of Jonathans. One box was opened and momentarily displayed, and the auctioneer proceeded with lightning speed to sell the lot or any pa:t thereof It was knocked down at l(te 6d. The bidder took 15 cases, and, while the auctioneer passed on .to the next lot, one of his clerks rapidly took from the ring of buyerk orders for ihe balance of the 150 <?aSes. The cries were "Ten," "Twenty," "Fifteen,'\ and so on. The Australian, haying noted the price at iOs 6d, went away and waited for bis account sales. These came, and showed that the 150 cases had been duly sold at 10s 6d. So far so good. But stjll foe was not satisfied. He believed the, agent was getting at him somewhere, and he attended several sales in. succession, j Them he dropped-to it. He'found that ver.y often, the.clerk,, whose busiBiffSfe it appeared to be to clear the "balance at the opening price if possible, frequently stopped when only Lalf the "fruit had'been sold. The explanation was clear. This agent, like many others at Corent Garden, was both salesman and dealer. He served a number of "tied shops," <aeifl after selling half a consignment at the auction prices he reserved the balance, and doubtless put it into his ekops at \an increase on the auction ra&e. . My. Australian friend sought commission agent of good repute. Haying obtained the assurance that his firm dealt on commission alone, he said: "Very well, I will give you my fruit upon two or *hre© conditions- First, I want to sea all the Iruifc which you write off as ' waste '/next, I want to be introduced to the people who buy my fruit; and last, I vrant the right to inspect your books in so far as they concern my sales." The agent professed great indignation, and refused to handle the consignment upon those terms. "I thught," the Australian said, in tell- ] i»g the story, "he would kick me off i t;ke premises." j These examples, which are authen- j tid in. detail, cast- light upon some of j tfee methods, adopted by the agents to whom nearly the whole of the fruit exported from Australia to this country is entrusted. The producer is robbed all the way. The agents, j with few exceptions, are agents only j in name, and most of them fail to s secure for their clients the- true ' .market price. ' I Take tho difference to the j orchardists bet-wean 5 per cent, and .3 per cent, commission^ and 5d aiid ■ 8d per case charged for handling. > Beckoning the saving at the lower] xa&es at od a case, and the yield per ] adrV from 100 trees at three casea J ■tff the tree, wo get a saving on 300 \ cases of £6 5s to the acre. An ) otciiardist with ten acres would be "• dasrn £62 10s. i Then there fe the exaggerated . "wasto." There is practically no j ■check upon the agent in the matter ; of "wasfce," which in the account [ sates is generally considerable, and' always particularly heavy upon ' p6ars. The refusal of even a T^jutable agent sudh as I have cited t» produce his "waste" is evidence of current practices. •;• KOWETi PRICES INEVITABLE. Everybody who considers the possibilities of Australian orcharding a-aSI the immense frait-eating ca.'pacity of Europe proclaims the future magnitude and wealth of the Commonwealth's fruit industry. But ttere is one important point- which nwist not be neglected. In the oarly days of Victorian irrigation the ocehardists made the great mistake o£ calculating their future profits upon the prices which ruled prior to tie new settLemerits being founded. When those new settlements came iMto bearing, the export trade had n6t been developed. Canning, dryjfr-; and pulping were practically unknown. The result was that the Melbourne market was glutted; that tke' prices fell away almost, to nothing, and that* irrigated orchardfag was anything but remunerative. There is an actual danger ot^ someThing of this sort happening m con■nection with, the - export of our apples and other orchard produce. Last season the Australian apples cold, at Covenfe - Garden averaged,

roughly, 8s 6d per case. Of this about 2s 6d a case was returned to the growers. It costs about 6s, under "present conditions, to ship and sell our exported product. Nominally the cases contain 401b; actually they contain nearer 351b. • and, after allowing for "waste" and "turn of scale," the British retailer gets about 301b. out of each case. The price obtained ranges from 4d to 6d, except for small prime lots, which are retailed in the leading shops in the West End. CHEAPEN THE CHARGES. It may safely be accepted that we have not yet touched the limit of the sales of our apples at these prices. Some of the big provincial towns have not yet been fully worked. But even allowing for this, the conclusion one reaches, after special inquiries into the matter, is that if the supplies of Australian apples are substantially increased the price will be reduced. To-day our apples are not eaten by the million. The> householders who can afford to pay 5d a Ib. for their eating fruit are very limited in number. It is certain that at the rate the area under apples in Australia has been increased in recent years the export will soon be doubled and redoubled. And it is equally certain that when this happens retail prices in England will go down. Australian orchardists cannot afford to grow apples for less than 2s or 2s 6d a case net. But the only chance of maintaining prices is in the reduction of the general charges. It is not likely that anything material will be cut off the shipping rate. The economy must be made in handling and "marketing. True the orchardist of the southern _ hemisphere is in the happy position or being able to place his fruit in the crowded North at a time when, the markets are practically empty or fresh, naturaily-grown garden produce. But in recent years tho orchardist of North America has made such strides in the storage ot fruit, and especially of apples, that lie now carries over to the northern spring a large and rapid! y-mcreasing quantity of-fruit which, if not quite fresh, is fresh enough to afiect seriously the market for the product of Australia and South Africa.