THE WELLINGTON FRUIT MARKET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12482, 28 January 1904, Page 5

THE WELLINGTON FRUIT MARKET.

AN UNUSUAL GLUT.

[by telegraph.— OOKRESPONDENT.] Wellington; Wednesday. The local fruit market is in a bad way just now, by reason of the unusual glut which has occurred. Apparently the trouble is that the exportation of fruit from the Islands is now entirely without method. Some time ago all exportation was done through agents, but now growers and speculators work without agents, and flood New Zealand, especially Wellington, which is looked upon as the best fruit market in the colony. The Rotokino, from Fiji, brought a very large cargo of fruit, a considerable quantity of which had to be condemned, the weather having affected it. In the Rotokino there were three times as many bananas as could possibly be consumed here, and the consequence is that the shippers will lose heavily. Instead of cases bringing from Gs to 14«, they were sold at the extraordinary price of from a dozen to 20 cases for Is and Is 6d. In the auction rooms hundreds and hundreds of cases and bunches could not be sold at any price. From Nelson, Wanganui, Auckland, and Hastings thousands of cases of plums are coining in almost daily.