NEGLECTED WEALTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21069, 31 December 1931, Page 8

NEGLECTED WEALTH.

UNNECESSARY IMPORTS. DOMINION FRUIT DRYING. EXPERIENCE OF PACKERS. PASSION FRUIT POSSIBILITIES. No. ir. The drying of fruit in New Zealand is an almost virgin field waiting to ho tapped. Experience has shown, however, that much remains to ho done by the grower before the drying of fruit can bo pursued upon a commercially successful basis. All varieties of any specific fruit cannot be dried with equal success, so that if the industry is to develop and flourish the growers must mako a point of raising suitable drying varieties. An example of the possibilities ahead of the fruit drying industry is given in the case of New Zealand-grown arid dried apples, which have been placed with success upon the Dominion market. Tentative experiments have been made in the drying of other fruits, including pluins for the production of piuncs, but here again certain difficulties havo become apparent which must be solved by the grower before the dryer can to operate. The drying, or dehydrating, process adopted in commercial practice is invariably an artificial one, as opposed to the sun-drying method in vogue in certain instances, By evaporting from the fiuit or vegetables the large water content that obtains, a great loss of weight is entailed by the time the product is finished. In the case of apples it takes on an average about 81b. of fresh fruit to produce lib. of the dried product. Initial Cost of Fruit. It will thus be seen that the initial cost must be low if the dried fruit is to bo sold at a price that will ensure a payable demand. This is a point which the packer, unless he plants his own orchards, cannot control, and unless he is to abandon his efforts he must be supplied at a workable price. Size and quality of fruit also has a very definite bearing upon the success of drying operations, so that tlio grower again must produce a fruit that will be suitable for the process. Such fruit it has not always been possible to obtain in the most economical manner, and high freight charges have been involved in railage. All this militates against the expansion of the industry and against competition with imported products. On tho technical side the resources for fruit drying are adequate. Those engaged in the industry know what to do and how to do it. What is more, plant is available in Urn country, and confidence is expressed that, given a supply of suitable fruit, the industry could be made to flourish.

No better apricots can be procured than those which grow in Otago; yet New Zealanders send to South Africa for their supplies. The .quality of the apricots grown in the Thames.. district also is well and favourably known. If these cannot, at present be produced at a price which will permit of their drying, then the position calls for an intensive inquiry into ways and means of bringing this about. Prunes and Passion Fruit. The value of the prunes imported into New Zealand last year was £30,257. This obviously is a substantial trade that would repay, internal exploitation. Attempts have been made to dry varieties of plums for sale as prunes, but little success has resulted. The need is for the growing of a definite prune plum, and Thames again suggests itself as an area where experiments should bo made. The preparation for the market of passion fruit juice is an activity in which the Dominion has recently engaged, and the possibilities ahead of this industry are such as to have aroused the keenest enthusiasm. An almost unlimited demand exists for jthis product, and provided that from the 'inception the industry is conducted on the right lines its exploitation overseas should be attended by lucrative results. * The "black" passion fruit from which the juice is extracted requires a warm climate and a fairly heavy rainfall, and in this respect the Auckland district is practically ideal. It is the only province in New Zealand in which the fruit can be grown. Here again, the price at which the fruit can be produced will be a determining factor in the success of the industry, since preparation costs need to bs added to the initial costs of production. Importation of Cherries. Although the capabilities of New Zealand to produce a great variety of highgrade fruit are too well known to need emphasis, the astonishing fact remains that in 1930 fresh and dried fruit to the value of £543.024 was imported. Of the total. £385,593 was spent on dried, bottled and preserved fruit. In addition, £144,893 was spent on oranges and £12,533 on apples. The reliance which New Zealanders place on overseas countries for their fruit supplies, when, by development and organised marketing, they could be self-sup-porting, is demonstrated by the recent opening of the cherry season. Following the practice that has becomo usual shipments of cherries were received from Australia, and at, the same time that, New Zealand cherries were on the market. Cherries grow abundantly in the Dominion, the" Wairarapa district, to name but one area in the £forth Island, being especially suitable for a flourishing growth of this attractive fruit. Aucklanders this year were given an excellent opportunity of judging the high quality of Wairarapa cherries, for the bulk of the local supply in connection with which the New Zealand Fruitgrowers' Federation launched its Dominion mark scheme was drawn from the Wairarapa. The pumice lands of the Auckland Province constitute an area thai might well repay experiments in the growing of cherries, as these lands, under proper treatment, will grow successfully a large variety of small fruits. If research in any direction is needed, then it should be undertaken, for the sooner New Zealand endeavours to dispense with unnecessary importations the sooner will it movo along the road to prosperity.