JAPANESE ONIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23866, 21 July 1939, Page 7

JAPANESE ONIONS

SHIPMENT DUE NEXT WEEK MEETING LOCAL SHORTAGE fPEfI United Press Association! WELLINGTON, July 20. To meet the local shortage a few Hundred tons of Japanese onions are due to arrive a‘ Auckland early next week by the Naniwa Maru This is the first shipment made by the Government this year., A quantit., of New Zealand onions was exported some time ago and a furt’.iei consignment is to be shipped by the Awatea to-morrow. It is stated .hat if the New Zealand onions would keep there would he sufficient to fulfil the requirements. but they went bad if kepi too long Some New Zealand onions retained their quality for a long period, but there were not sufficient of these to avoid occasional impor tation For that reason it was necessary to obtain them from another hemisphere during the winter season to meet the demands of the housewife No further shipments from Japan are contemplated at present i* is stated. „ . attitude of Chinese fruiterers to Japanese onions was commented on by the manager of a firm of merjl.ants He said that the Chinese had boycotted onions from Japan for the last 10 years to his knowlodge. They would take onions from ew Zealand or anywhere else but were definitely opposed to buying Japanese onions. MEETING IN CHRISTCHURCH IMPORTATION OPPOSED (Special to Dailv Times) CHRISTCHURCH, July 20. A unanimous decision to ask the Government, through the Canterbury Fruit Buyers' Association, not to send any Japanese onions to the South Island was made by a meeting called by the Canterbury Chinese Association to-night. Mr Wallingford Chan, who presided briefly sketched the position concerning the importation of Japanese onions into New Zealand, tie said that New Zealand growers could produce sufficient quantities of onions for the total annual consumption, but as there was a period during the year when locally-grown onions would not keep it was necessary to import some. These, however, could be obtained from the United States and Canada So that the Japanese could increase the exportation of agricultural products, It would be necessary for them to indent Chinese and Korean labour because of the shortage of Japanese man-power This, he would be an extremely low cost of production when compared with that in New Zealand Several European members of the fruit-buying industry who attended the meeting spoke in support of the arguments advanced by various Chinese sneakers for the prevention of the importation of Japanese onions WANGANUI MASTER GROCERS DECISION TO BOYCOTT (Per United Press Association; WANGANUI, July 20. The Wanganui Master Grocers’ Association has decided not to handle Japanese onions as a protest against the treatment of British nationals in China.