SHIPPING TO RAROTONGA

Otago Witness, Issue 3467, 24 August 1920, Page 43

SHIPPING TO RAROTONGA

(Fhom Ocs Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, August 19. The stat« of shipping between New Zealand and the Cook Islands is dealt with in the- annual report of the Resident Commissioner at Karotonga. The report states that both imports and exports show that our shipping facilities were worse last year than they were in 1918, but it is gratifying to be able to report an improvement in this respect. This year the Talune, a larger and better vessel, had replaced the Flora on the Auckland run. She is already proving of great advantage in getting the orange crop away, thanks to her large carrying capacity. We have already passed Last year's total export of oranges (70,000 cases), although the season is little more than half over. The Talune, however, kinds her fruit at Auckland, and as the Fiji fruit is also shipped to that port, the market becomes glutted, and price's fall. On the other hand the Wellington and the southern markets are often bare, but our planters cannot reach them to any satisfactory extent, as the mail'boats that make Wellington their destination have very little space available for the Islands. It is suggested in the interests of the planters that a very valuable alteration in the itinerary of the Talune would be effected by making Auckland and Wellington alternately her destination. In that way our Island fruit would be more evenly distributed, to the mutual advantage of the growers and of the people of the dominion.