EXPORT OF FRUIT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21325, 28 October 1932, Page 14

EXPORT OF FRUIT

. !IOW PRICES FOR APPLES CONDITION ON ARRIVAL GRAPEFRUIT CRITICISED 0 LONDON MANAGER RETURNS "'The export season for apples was renewed yesterday by Mr. J. L. Brown, of Nelson, formerly chairman of the Fruit Export Board, who returned by the Rangitiki after acting as manager in London for the board since the beginning of last'! year. New Zealand exported 1,500,000 cases of apples and pears during the year, he said. The season was not a good one, however, prices being low. < In June and early July, said Air. the British market was glutted with apples, and prices to the lowest level for many years, good sound fruit selling as low as 4s 6d a bushel case. Seeing the growers faced with threatened disaster, he decided to place all the remaining fruit arriving from New Zealand in cool store. The quantity actually put off the market in this way was 300,000 cases. ' j A Successful Slip "This was, done not with the intention of/securing higher prices later on," ,said Mr. Brown, "but for the main purpose of, preventing the market from falling even lower than it was then. Unquestionably this step was successful, but .it cannot be viewed as a guide for future Occasions, for very seldom does such a fortuitous chain of circumstances occur in one season to cause cool store fruit to rise ,'to tha price ours did this year." .Mi Reviewing the New Zealand shipments that reached London, Mr. Brown said that Cox's Orange Pippins were landed in the worst condition ever known for that variety, suffering from over-maturity. The Jonathans generally suffered from "low temperature scald." Other varieties, such as Delicious, were in exceptionally good condition, especially the. Auckland Delicious, which were the finest ever landed on the London market, and were freer than usual from brown core. The disease still existed, however, and was liable to develop in store. A criticism of the method of labelling New Zealand grapefruit was made by Mr. Brown. "In my opinion, it is wrong to label this fruit 'grapefruit,' " he said. "It does not compare with the grapefruit' sold in England. At the time the New Zealand shipment was landed the principal supplies were coming from South Africa and and the flavour of the New 1 2!ealand fruit bore no comparison with'.that of the others. The flesh was favourably commented upon, being more like that, of [» tangerine orange, and the fruit arrived in good condition, but immediately the jcold thawed out, it commenced to rot, or melt, as the trade calls it, and consequently it had to be repacked. It was sold as grapegruit, but many complaints were .made about it. ; , The Continental Market I "The favourable price received for grapefruit in London this year cannot be accepted as a guide," he added. "The price, of South 'African grapefruit on the market at present is at least 50 per cent greater' than it was last year. If the price sof South African grapefruit fell to 15s per j large case, the price for the New Zealand fruit would probably be from 8s to 110s, • which /would be unprofitable to the New Zealand grower." Speaking of the Continental market, Mr. [Brown said there were many difficulties confronting any effort on the part of the Dominion to secure a footing there. "The . financial position on the Gpntinent, particularly the restrictions applied to the easy transfer of foreign money anywhere on the Continent, does not appear, to be jvery well understood in New Zealand," . said. "It is practically impossible, for ,instance, to obtain, payment, under certain for goods sold to GerVjnany."