ENGLISH APPLES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 17 December 1936, Page 14

ENGLISH APPLES

INCREASING PRODUCTION COMPETITION WITH EMPIRE: AND FOREIGN FRUIT LONDON, 21st November. Apples from English orchards will probably compete increasingly with those produced in the Empire in a few years’ time. During the last 12 years English apples production has expanded enormously, and whereas only 25 apples in every 100 eaten in Great Britain during 1924 were home-grown, 57 out of every 100 eaten in 1934 were produced in the United Kingdom. These facts were given to the British Empire Club by Mr H. V. Taylor, of the Ministry for Agriculture and Fisheries, when he spoke in an unofficial capacity

this week. Lord Bledisloe presided. Mr Taylor said that in 1935 the acreage of orchards in England and Wales totalled 262,115. which included an expansion of 17,000 acres in the previous four years. The view, once held widely, that the English climate was less favourable for apple production than that of parts of the .Empire and the United States had been altered by research work. This had convinced growers that the climate was less at fault than tlie methods adopted, and that by spraying and manning good crops could be produced.

ENTHUSIASM FOR EFFICIENCY Orchardistg had installed elaborate machinery for securing elficient spraying and the larger growers had erected gas stores for storage. Packing stations equipped with grading machinery were now common in most fruit districts, and the supply of expert graders and packers was now large,. The homo industry had developed an enthusiasm for efficiency that did not exist 20 years ago. Furthermore, they had captured a spirit of adventure in attempting to produce apples of market quality coupled with proper systems of grading, packing anil storage. They felt the home grower qould enjoy much more of the apple business. Although apples had been produced in quantity in England for centuries said Mr Taylor, it was only comparatively recently that English growers had applied the real commercial sense to orcharding and preparation for markets. The inevitable result before this had been that market packages had not been pleasing to the eye, and the fruits were rough and blemished and not graded. ' Imported apples, which were carefully prepared for marketing, fetched the highest prices, and English fruit was accepted as second best. EFFECT OF TARIFFS “In 1931, the last year in which free trade ruled for apple imports, 58.5 per cent, of the import apples were of foreign origin, and 41.5 per cent, of Empire origin. By a change in the fiscal policy imports ’of apples from foreign «ourees were subject to a tax of 4s 6d per cwt on entry, and imports from Empire sources continued to enter free of duty,’ continued Mr Taylor. “The effect was instantaneous and important, for supplies from foreign sources decreased definitely and supplies from Empire sources increased. Tear by year the proportions changed in favour of the Empire so that in 1934 the apples of the Empire formed 76 per cent, of the total imports and provided the conditions continue there seems no reason why this increase in Empire apples, at the expense of the foreign, should not continue. It is important to notice, however, that the total imports (more than 7,ooo,ooocwt)_ in 1935 is much the same as the total imports in 1951. SOURCE OF SUPPLY “The trade lost by the foreign countries has been absorbed by the Empire countries and the quality of the apples of Empire sources proved as high as that previously obtained from foreign sources, so that few members of the general public realised that any change had been made. . . . Out of every 100 apples eaten in 1924 only 25 were grown in the United Kingdom; 27 were supplied from Empire sources and 38 from the United States of America. In 1934 out of every 100 apples, 57 were grown in the United Kingdom, 32 were supplied from Empire sources and 11 from toreign countries. It is true that crops in 1934 were heavy, but it indicates the higher quota to be expected from home supplies. “It is evident from these figures that growers in England and in other parts of the Empire are capturing more and more of the trade and in favourable years, such as in 1534, that the home grower is able to supply a much larger proportion of apples of a suitable market standard than hitherto If the facts suggest that in a few years’ time the apples from the home orcha.rds will be in competition with those from orchards in the overseas parts of the Empire to an increasing extent, it is only to emphasise the need for further propaganda by all growers, both home and Empire, to secure a higher consumption of fruit and, above all, the need for a better organisation of the industries at home and throughout the Empire to secure that the supplies from the Empire are complementary to the home grown and so prevent waste of fruit and money.”