Fewer Apples and Pears This Year

Manawatu Times, Volume 70, Issue 93, 20 April 1945, Page 5

Fewer Apples and Pears This Year

(Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, April 19. Though the grading standards havo been modified a little to provide for the acceptance of fruit with a wider range of defects, this season’s marketable crop of aiiples and pears handled by the Internal Marketing Division shows a considerable drop on that of last year. The estimate is 1,800,000 cases of apples and 300,000 cases of pears compared with a total of 2,580,000 last year; la addition, some fruit estimated at 10 to 15 per cent, of the total crop is each year disposed of direct from producer to consumer. Last year’s crop was the second highest during the six years that the Division has been in control and it is usual for a large crop to bo followed by a smaller one. The wholesale prices are fixed so that the retail prices stabilised in 1943 can be adhered to. Because of the smaller crop, the apples-in-scliools scheme which started on April 9, will continue for only four weeks this year instead of the usual 10 to 12 weeks. The Nelson crop is two to three weeks later than usual and the Hawke’s Bay crop is slightly earlier. Because of the late* ness of the South Island crops some difiieulty lias been experienced in meeting the demand in Canterbury and Otago.