CHINESE WALNUTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 31 May 1930, Page 13

CHINESE WALNUTS

AKAROA GROWERS SEEK PROTECTION

POSITION NOT "ACUTE

(Uy Telegraph-Special to "Tho Mail")

CHRISTCHURCH, 29th May

Of late years very considerable demand has grown up for shelled walnuts for cooking purposes, and so large lias this demand become that New Zealand growers cannot hope to meet it. Accordingly a large amount of "walnut meal" is now imported from China, but this does noli all'eet local growers adversely, because they can obtain good prices for their walnuts for dessert nurposes, for which the imported nut is unsuitable.

This was the opinion advanced to a reporter to-day, when he made inquiries from pedple dealing in walnuts about the request of Akaroa growers to the Canterbury .Farmers' Union yesterday that an embargo or tariff should be placed on foreign nuts, to prevent undue competition with locally grown nuts.

lii the opinion of a prominent auctioneer, the .statement that Akaroa farmers had found it almost impossible to sell their walnut crops because of large foreign importations' was very much open to question. Not since he had started in business had he handled Chinese walnuts, and lie thought that that was very much the position in other auction rooms. Fruit merchants only handled local supplies, and they had plenty to keep them going. Undoubtedly the quality of local walnuts in the shell was much better than tho foreign nuts. There was quite a large demand for walnuts, and at present t'hey were selling at 9d a lb wholesale. There was very little demand indeed for Chinese walnuts, and Akaroa walnuts were always preferred. "So far as the South Island is concerned, the protest to the Farmers' Union and the request for an embargo or tariff does not seem to be justified," he concluded.

On the question of a tariff or em bargo on imported Walnuts, a well known Christchurch. agent was em

phatic. "TJicre is absolutely no need for it," lie said. "It would entail hardship on the consumer, and it would do the local grower no good, because all the walnuts he can grow can fetch a good prktc for dessert purposes."