THE CITRUS EMBARGO

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21579, 25 August 1933, Page 15

THE CITRUS EMBARGO

Sir, —Your correspondent, Mr. H. "VV. Knight, in his reply to my letter on the citrus embargo,,evades the main point. I conceded at the start that sweet oranges could well be brought here in large quantities without Effecting the local growers, as only a few grow sweet oranges, and then not commercially. My main points were: — Firstly, when our own lemons hare to rot because of a market overcrowded with imported fruit, why bring in that fruit and aggravate a bad position? Secondly, if the public cannot pay Is per dozen for lemons, why not see that a fair system of marketing is brought in whereby the consumer would not have to pay, as at present in most cases, 12$ per rent auctioneering charges, and anything up to 50 per cent for shopkeepers' profits? The latter, finding trade slow and his weekly turnover decreasing, has to find some relief, and his only recourse is to pay less for the fruit while still passing it on to the public at the same or higher prices. Mr. Knigkt obviously has never had to depend on the land for his daily bread, or he would not offer such a foolish , comparison as his mythical phosphate, which cost, nothing to find, or argue that Australian fruit, should be given away here rather than rot in its own country. If his particular form of business happened to be, say, dealing in boots, would he like all his invested capital to be lost, because another firm or the Government, decided the public would he pleased to receive free footwear indefinitely? Further, the citrus-grower has not only to lose all his capital, but all payment for his own and often his family's labour, together with the expense of running his orchard. Citrus Grower.