FRUIT CONTROL BOARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3802, 25 January 1927, Page 68

FRUIT CONTROL BOARD.

CHAIRMAN GOES HOME. WELLINGTON, January 17. Mr H. G. Napier (secretary of the New Zealand Fruit Export Control Board and the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation, Ltd.) stated to-day that Lieut.-col. C. Gray (chairman of the Fruit Export Control Board) left Wellington last Saturday morning on the Mataroa for London to represent the board in the handling and distribution of fruit. During the coming season as an experiment a small quantity of apples is to Be kept in cool storage in Southampton, the idea being to use this fruit in testing the usually bare market in the United Kingdom in August this being the month intervening between the finish of the soft fruit supplies and the start of the English and American apple season. Southampton had been selected because it was the first port of call for many New Zealand ships. It had fine cool stores, and, being the terminal of the South African and other fruit-carrying lines of steamers, the authority there had considerable experience, in the handling of fruit. Good prospects were held out for the export of apples to South America despite the duty in some ports of 4s a case. Delicious apples from New Zealand have been bought in somerparts at the equivalent of lOJld each.