IMPORT OF ORANGES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21580, 26 August 1933, Page 10

IMPORT OF ORANGES

The announcement that oranges from South Australia will be allowed to enter Now Zealand merely confirms officially what had been made known some time ago. The actingPrime Minister gives an assurance that this will not cause the ban on New Zealand fruit, recently lifted, to be imposed again by the United States. Official action seems to have been intelligently anticipated, since a consignment of oranges will be landed in the South to-day. So far everything is satisfactory, for shutting out all Australian oranges seemed to be causing New Zealand as much hardship as Australia. It certainly put what is increasingly emphasised as a health-giving fruit beyond the reach of many who would have readily bought oranges at a reasonable price. \et there must needs be a tag on what would otherwise be an entirely welcome end to an unfortunate situation. There are to be quantitative restrictions on imports, arrangements having been made with the Australian Government to regulate shipments from South Australia. Immediately there arises the question why this should be necessary. It is obviously not needed to induce the United States to admit New Zealand fruit. Source, not the quantity of oranges admitted to this country, is the important point in that question. Why must there be this continuous interference with the flow of trade? Whose interests will be served by rigid supervision over the quantity of oranges imported from South Australia? It really seems as though there will never be an end to the continuous interference —some people would be inclined to say meddling with ordinary business. From the viewpoint of principle it seems a curious contrast with the treatment New Zealand seeks abroad for her own products. Strenuous protests have been made against any restriction on the admission of dairy produce into the United Kingdom, yet the exact policy so resisted is applied to Australian fruit. The inconsistency is glaring.