OTAGO FRUITGROWERS

Otago Witness, Issue 4039, 11 August 1931, Page 6

OTAGO FRUITGROWERS

PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS DISCUSSED. The Otago Provincial Fruitgrowers’ Conference was held in the Town Hall, Roxburgh, on Wednesday. The Otago director of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation (Mr' H. Turner) presided, and Mr T. C. Brash (president of the federation) and Mr H. E. Napier (manager) also attended. The following delegates were present:— Upper Clutha, Mr J. Swann; Clyde, Mr S. A. Stevens; Central Otago, Mes. rs A Ashworth and C. Weaver: Tewot. Mr J. B. Gilmour and H. Waigth, jun.; Ettrick. Mr O. Reichel; Taieri, Mr J. Watt: Otago Co-op.—Messrs J. Hamilton, E. Pinder, W. B. Kenworthy, and J. Bennetts; Otago, Mr E. H. Turner; council, Mr D. Leslie. The chairman welcomed the delegates and growers. The meeting, he stated, was a preliminary to the annual, conference of the federation to be held in Wellington on September 2. The delegates vould express their feelings regarding the remits which, however, would be considered by the federation conference whether approved or otherwise. CONTROL ACT AND GUARANTEE. A lengthy discussion took place in committee on important matters with respect to the Fruit Control Act and its relation to the Government export guarantee. No decision was reached, however, and the questions involved were held over for further consideration. DIRECTORS’ ADDRESSES. The chairman said that the past season, both for the stone and pip fruitgrowers, had been reasonably good. The export market had not been as good as growers had hoped, but it had proved to be fairly satisfactory, and particularly satisfactory when compared with the experiences of other primary industries. The local market had not been satisfactory for pip and stone fruit, as the weather had been against the grower, and the season had been prolonged. The satisfaction always remained with respect to stone fruit, however, that Otago seemed to have control of the market as far as apricots were concerned, and it had been possible to gain a market as far north as Auckland. If apricots could be grown satisfactorily elsewhere that market would not be open. This had a direct bearing on the value of stone fruit orchard lands. With respect to export, pip fruit bad gone on to a reasonably good market, and he had no hesitation in saying that fruitgrowing it the present time was more stable than any other primary industry and was likely to remain so for some years to come. He also claimed that fruitgrowing was the best organised of the primary industries, and if some of the proposals to be brought forward for consideration were adopted the position must be further stabilised. This had a bearing on the value of orchards, into which those present had put their time and money and from which they gained their bread and butter. Since the fast conference the federation had sent Mr Napier overseas. He had already toured the provinces and given accounts of his trip. One of his definite objects had been to secure for the future everything that was British in preference to the foreign article. — (“Hear, hear.”) He had been able to arrange for securing' from British sources some material which had previously come from foreign manufacturers. Until the present year the | bulk of the boxes used in the north had been made from Canadian timber. All of those present knew that New Zealand millers had been inclined to think that the federation had fostered importations against the interests of local timber. Until recently, however, the New Zealand millers had not been in a position to cater for the growers’ needs. Now the millers were out to give the grower what he wanted, and the federation was equally keen to deal with them. The federation had placed an order for 860,000 cases, to be made from New Zealand timber, with local millers, whereas- nearly 1,000,000 had been imported last year. Up to the present no order had gone overseas. A movement was now in train for using the valuable beech forests in the south for box timber. It compared favourably with any other local or imported timber. Unfortunately, northern growers had judged the timber on unfair samples. On Satur day he had urged Southland millers to have a quantity of these boxes used in Nelson this year in order to bring a greater proportion of case business to die south. He hoped to see a large quantity going north in future. The federation was straining every nerve in its endeavours to place as much as possible of its requirements in New Zealand. Mr Brash said that this was the first time he had had the opportunity of meeting Otago growers in the centre of their main area. He was making the visit during part of his annual leave. The federation had been built up on sound lines. It had started with no capital, and, though it had been in operation for nearly 20 years, the only capital paid in had been £lO3. This had been invested by the various growers’ associations anil* the shares were held bv them. Those £1 shares were now worth over £2OO each. The federation had had a bank balance at the end of the year of £BOOO. It was growing step by step. The orchard tax had helped a great deal. It would be remembered that orchardists had voluntarily asked the Government to collect this tax from them. From time to time the federation had considered the question of collecting the tax itself, and there -was now a greater possibility than ever before of carrying this into effect. At present nearly one-third of the tax went in the cost of collection. He did not blame the Government for that. In 1923 when he had joined the board the capital had been £2OOO. Now it was £21,295, and every penny of it was good. The trading turnover in-1923 had been £12,000, and for 1930 it had been £150,000. For the past 18 months it had been £200,000. To have such an organisation of their own, entirely co-operative, was something of which growers might be proud. The directors had not established price-cutting. They had realised that goods must carry a reasonable margin of profit. The feder-

ation carried enormous amounts on its books, but it had lost very little in bad debts. It had often been tempted to cut prices and give growers a direct benefit, but if they were cut too fine the federation might have a very short life. The federation had largely assisted in keeping prices steady. Its expenses were growing steadily with increasing business. It had set aside £5OO for the Local Marketing . Committee, and it had also assisted the Otago Council in the marketing .of apricots. These matters tended to keep expenses up. Eighteen months ago the constitution had been altered to make it possible for the directors to pass on to growers a portion of the profits at the end of the year At their last meeting the directors had agreed to place to the credit of growers 1A per cent, of the total business put through. In view of the times the federation wanted to keep its finances sound. It had a staff of 38, and the head office did all the machinery work for the export of 1,250,000 cases. The suggestion had been made that salaries should be reduced. While the directors had decided not to continue the 5 per cent, bonus to the staff, they had agreed to make nc reduction in salaries. Out of the gross profits £lOOO had been set aside for local marketing purposes during the coming year. Certain proposals were being made which might- alter the whole position, but at present he was not free to say what they were. It might be necessary to spend the bulk of the £lOOO. The federation had assisted export, and now it was its dutv to foster local markets, which were prob ably Otago’s greatest interest. A delegate stated that it seemed remarkable that, of the orchard tax of £2400, £BOO went in cost of collection. The chairman stated that as a matter of fact the sum of £BOO. according to the Government, did not cover the cost of collection. It had been stated that if all legitimate charges were made nothing would be left for the federation. DELEGATES TO CONFERENCE.

The following delegates to the federation conference were elected:—Upper area 1 Alexandra and above). Messrs A. Ashworth and C. Weaver; lower area, Messrs John Bennetts and E. Pinder. CONSTITUTION. The following remit was received from the Ettrick Fruitgrowers’ Association: — “ That directors of the federation be elected by individual postal ballot by bona fide fruitgrowers.” Mr Reichel, who moved the adoption of the remit, said that under the present system there was a big possibility of a minority candidate being elected. Mr Brash said that a similar recommendation had been made to conference by the directors, and it had been turned down by one vote. The chairman said that one of the objections to the remit was that a man with £20,000 sunk in his orchard had no greater voting power than a man with the minimum of 120 trees. The remit was adopted, with the addition of the words “ who are members of an association affiliated to the federation.” Disapproval was expressed of remits urging greater representation of Nelson on the federation and Control Board, and “ more adequate ” representation on the federation for Nelson and the South Island. FINANCE. In two remits it was urged that the federation follow the example of other bodies and reduce salaries and wages by 10 per cent. It was stated by Mr Brash that, particularly during the export season, the staff worked a great deal of overtime for which no payment was made. After a full explanation had been made, the action of the directors in not making a 10 per cent, cut was endorsed. With respect to a remit urging that the present system of discounts be replaced by a more equitable system, Mr Napier said that some growers in the north had been advereely affected. The directors had decided to reduce the discount on packing supplies to 5 per cent., and it was hoped that this would be endorsed by conference. LOCAL MARKETS. Two remits urged that the federation make more sustained and intensive efforts to solve the local market problem. The following remit was also submitted by the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association: —“That it be a recommendation that an officer be appointed by the federation, whose duty it shall be to visit the auction marts of the Dominion for the purpose of watching the interests ot growers at auction sales; to inspect the fruit on sale; to give attention to the handling of fruit by railway officials and carriers, and to seek to open up new avenues for the disposal of fruit.” The matter was left in the hands ot the delegates, who were asked to support the devoting of greater attention to local markets.

Remits from Gratia and Upper Clutha urging that the export shaped case be made the standard case for New Zealand were approved.

A remit from Wairarapa asking that the horticultural division be requested to allow pears to be packed for the local markets in the “American pear case ” was left in the hands of the delegates. - The following remit from the Central Otago Association was adopted:—“That the department be asked to limit the number of sizes of cases used for marketing stone fruit and tomatoes.”—Mr Weaver said that the number of sizes ran into double figures.

Delegates unanimously supported a number of remits opposing any steps that might be taken to legalise “buying in.” A number of remits urging that charging for eases be made universal were also approved. It was stated that Otago stone fruitgrowers were interested in the following Hawke’s Bay remit:—“ That representation be made to the Wellington Fruit Brokers’ Association regarding their excessive charges from rail to markets.”— Mr Napier said that it was expected that the announcement of an qmended scale of charges would be made shortly. The following remit was received from he Huapai Co-operative Society:—“ That as early as possible after the end of Maj’ in each year the division of horticulture be asked to furnish a monthly return showing, the. total quantity of (a) apples, (b) pears in all cool stores throughout

the Dominion.”—lt was decided to support the remit as a recommendation to the Internal Sales Committee

The following remit was received from the Upper Clutha Association: —“That the question of advertising stone fruit receive greater consideration with a view to making the campaign Dominion wide and not confining it to any province or provinces." —The chairman said that the matter was now being dealt with from that standpoint. He gave an outline of what steps had been taken in the recent campaign, and was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his efforts.

The following Hawke’s Bay remit was adopted:—“That it be a recommendation that a committee be set up for the purpose of considering the question of utilising our surplus and second grade fruit, parti: ular attention to be paid to the possibilities of producing fruit syrups and non-intoxicating drinks.” A remit from the Central Otago Association recommending that the Agricultural Department be asked to bring up to date the schedule of tizes for grading show fruit was approved. IMPORTED FRUITS.

It was decided by six votes to five to disapprove of the following remit from the Ettrick Association: —“That the New Zealand fruitgrowers view with alarm the prospect of increasing supplies of subsidi.ed tropical fruits being dumped on the New Zealand markets by subsidised shipping, and that the total importations of tropical fruits be limited to the value of the importat’ons for 1914.” Two remits urging more protection against imported soft and stone fruits were approved. A remit urging that there should je no importation of apples to New Zealand until after the end of November wa.- left to the. delegates, and it was decided to support a remit recommending a prohibitive or further duty on American A remit urging the prohibition of the importation of Island tomatoes during October. November, and December was approved. SUPPLIES. Remits regarding supplies were discussed, Messrs Brash and Napier giving explanations on a number of points. Complaints were made regarding the quality of wrapping papers, and Mr Napier stated that the present position would be remedied for next season. DISEASE CONTROL. The delegates were left a free hand with respect to remits dealing with the prevention of the spread of silver blight. TRANSPORTATION. The following Hawke’s Bay remits were approved:— “ That the action of the Railways Department in using insulated meat wagons for the carriage of fruit at various times during the busy fruit season is strongly resented in this Hawke’s Bay district, and that the department be urged to construct sufficient ventilated wagons for the growing output of -fruit.” “ That the strongest representation bo made to the Railway’s Department regarding the very heavy freights charged on small quantities of fruit and vegetables, small storekeepers who require only smail quantities having to pass these charges on to their customers, thus largely increasing the price of fruit, and curtailing the demand.” The delegates approved the following Clyde remit: —“That the responsible authority be asked to pool the freight on lime. It is suggested that the man within 100 miles who now gets free freight should pay some freight, and that this amount should be used to cheapen the freight to the man over 100 miles.” It was also decided to support an Upper Clutha remit urging the Railways Department to extend the delivery area in the cities. RESEARCH. Various remits dealt with research work, urging further investigation into the life habits of the leaf roller moth and experiments with spraj’s of summer and winter oils. Mr Brash gave an outline of the present research work, stating that excellent work was being done. He added that £3720 per annum would be available for research work for the next five years. Mr Brash urged those present to hear Dr Cunningham, of- the Government Plant Research Station at Palmerston North, when he tours Otago shortly. GENERAL. Remits dealing with grades (none of which came from Otago) and sizes of apples were left in the hands of the delegates. A similar decision was reached with respect to remits urging that the American standard be adopted in place of bushel cases for pears. With respect to Otago remits asking for a more suitable label for pear eases the chairman stated that a new label was being prepared, and he was sure that it would be to the satisfaction of growers. It was decided to support a remit asking for an alteration in the regulations to allow a smaller stamp to be used on the present pear label. ' Mr Napier reported that the Agricultural Department had agreed to the minimum size for Winter Cole and Nelis and similar shaped varieties being made 2Jin. It was decided to ’support a remit asking for the adoption of a better method of opening cases for inspection. Mr O. E Neiderer, Farmers’ Union organiser, briefly addressed the meeting, urging close co-operation between fruitgrowers and the union. Mr C. G. Wilkinson, of the federation staff, said that there seemed to be some doubt about the use of strawboard. The corrugation should be placed next to the case.—Mr Lloyd Williams said that he knew of a case in which every apple in a case had been marked when the corrugation had been used facing inwards.

A resolution was unanimously passed urging fruitgrowers to support the railways. Appreciation was expressed of the fact that Mr Brash and the manager had given their time to attend the conference.

Votes of thanks were also accorded to the chairman for his work during the year and to Mr Lloyd Williams for acting as secretary.

Mr Willia'ms expressed the regret of Mr J. A. Campbell, diretor of the Horticultural Division of the Agricultural Department, and Mr G. H. MTndoe, orchard instructor, at their inability to be present. NEW ZEALAND FEDERATION ANNUAL REPORT. The annual report of the Now Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Association, after drawing attention to the fact that owing to an alteration in the constitution the period under review is 18 months, states:— ACCOUNTS. The accounts disclose a very satisfactory result for the 18 months’ period. After making provision for reserves, the net profit fo r the period amounts to £4577 18s Bd. The amended constitution now provides power to the directors to allocate up to 60 per cent, of the net profits to purchasers. Since the accounts have been closed your directors have decided to exercise the full powers conferred on them and of the net profit shown in the accounts as presented, approximately £2746 15s is being allocated to special accounts for growers’ credits in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. It should be clearly understood that this distribution does not take the form of a cash bonus — the amount available to each grower is placed in a separate account and will not be distributed until such time as your directors may consider advisable. As the sum to be credited amounts to per cent, on turnover, it will be realised that the rebate is substantial, especially as this will apply to all goods purchased, including cases upon -which the margin of profit is of necessity on the low side. The directors feel sure that when growers fully appreciate that they are directly benefiting by participation in the net profits earned from the business they put through the federation, even greater support will be given to the trading department. BALANCE SHEET.

The date of balance has a great influence on certain of the principal items in the balance sheet. The present accounts show a credit balance at the bank of £8650 4s 3d, as compared with an overdraft of £37,255 15s 4d at December 31, 1929, the date of the last published balance sheet. Sundry debtors on December 31, 1929, amounted to £48,524 12s sd, whereas, after providing for reserves, the present accounts show’ a total of £19,750 18s 4d only. Stocks are very much lower and stand at £6376 3s sd; a comparatively small stock for a turnover of approxi-

mately £150,000 annually. After provision has been made for allocation to growers’ accounts it is anticipated that the accumulated funds will be increased by £1800; this will make a total of £18,500, and will show in the next published balance sheet. As the amounts allocated to growers will, in the meantime, remain in the business the amount of working capital available will be £21,295 6s 7d. A fresh item appearing in the balance sheet is a reserve of £lOOO for internal sales development. Your directors feel that a serious effort should 4 be made by the industry to place the marketing of fruit within the Dominion on a better basis, and this reserve has been created with a view to furthering that object. In the early days of-the export business, the federation gave considerable assistance towards fostering the export side of the trade. This was not done by means of a direct grant because at that time the federation finances were verj’ limited, but was achieved by charging for the export shipping work a fee very much lower than the actual work justified. TRADING ACCOUNT. Sales for the 18 months totalled £200,532 9s sd. Compared with the year ended December 31, 1929, the figures in 1930 show an increase of £30,000, or 25 per cent, on the previous 12 months. The six months’ figures from January 1 to June 30, 1931, are equal to- those of the same period of 1930. Afte r making due allowance for seasonal variations in deliveries, the six months just closed are really better than disclosed by the actual figures. The amount of gross profit in relation to turnover is equal to 10 per cent. In the 18 months under review two export seasons are covered; the profit and loss account therefore shows a much higher revenue than is usual from this source. The alteration in the date of balance has made this unavoidable, but in futilre the published accounts will show only one season’s revenue. It will be noticed that orchard tax is, this year, shown as revenue in the profit and loss account instead of appearing as a separate account. In the past certain expenses have been allocated against orchard tax account, but as such expenses can only be estimated, the new system of showing the total collections as a separate item in the profit and loss account will, in the opinion of directors, prove to be more satisfactory. Interest at £2309 5s 4d for the 18 months is a heavy item of expense, and is a reflection of the low prices received for the 1930 season’s export crop. With the prospect of better prices for the 1931 export it is anticipated that the federation will not be

called upon to carry so many accounts until export advances become available, and this will have an automatic effect on the interest bill. At December 31 last sundry debtors totalled approximately £70,000, and the bank overdraft on the same date amounted to £47.000. These figures indicate the extent to which growers lean on the federation for financial assistance immediately prior to the harvesting of the crop. One non-recurring item in the profit and loss account is the cost of the manager’s visit overseas, amounting to £Bl3 10s lid. Two reserves are charged to this year’s profits, an increase in the bad and doubtful debts of £lOOO, and a special reserve of £lOOO created for the purpose of furthering the development of internal sales. As a result of the increased business done and the. increased export work being handled, salaries account shows a slight increase as compared with the previous 12 months. Stationery at £973 for the 18 months is a fairly substantial increase on previous years—the principal increase haying occurred during the last six months owing to the heavy supplies of stationery required to handle the export pooling system. The other items appearing in the profit and loss account show little variation on previous years. FIREBLIGHT. Probably, by reason of climatic conditions, fireblight in New Zealand does not appear to be the serious disease that it is in America. The spread of the disease to the Canterbury district has caused a certain amount of apprehension in ths South Island. The first outbreak of fireblight which occurred in Auckland some years ago found the industry more or -less unprepared to deal with the emergency. Now, however, the Fireblight Act has been placed on the Statutes. This Act makes it possible for any commercial fruit area to set up an organisation with power to levy on growers, and thus create a fund for the purpose of dealing with an outbreak in anj’ commercial district. LOCAL MARKETS. The efforts of the committee set up at the 1929 conference and re-elected at subsequent conferences, have not been successful ~in securing any measure of standardisation of fruit placed on the local markets. This has not been the fault of the committee. It wag anticipated that some action would be taken bj’ the Government as a result of the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry which Parliament set up during the 1930 session.

SPRAYS AND SPRAYING EXPERIMENTS.

The joint efforts of the Horticultural Division of the Department of Agriculture, the Plant Research Station at Palmerston North, and the federation, in the direction of an investigation of spraying materials in general use, have already shown results. The eo-operatioh of the three-bodies has made available to the industry a complete organisation for the purpose of conducting the necessary experimental work. The Division of Horticulture supplies the services of their field officers for ’the conducting of the experiments, the Plant Research' Station makes available its officers for the scientific work necessary, and the federation supplies the spraying materials required for the carrying out of the experiments. Another important phase which is still incomplete in most districts, but already operating in Hawke’s Bay, is the setting up of experimental committees of growers to co-operate with the orchard instructor of the district in the formulation and the conducting of the experimental work decided upon for that province. It is proposed to seek the co-operation of the Advisory Boards in the Auckland and Nelson districts. As no such organisation exists in either Canterbury or Otago special arrangements will be necessary in those provinces. The Horticultural Division has appointed Mr VV. K. Dallas to the Plant Research Station as liaison officer between the field officers and the research workers Mr Dallas has all the qualifications for this work and the co-ordination of the research and field periments should be the means of securing to the industry full advantage of the investigations being carried out. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.

It is, as yet, too early to expect results from the organisation which has been created under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The research orchard in Nelson was only made possible by a grant from the Fruit Export Board of £1250 towards the purchase price. The work now being commenced is subsidised by both the Empire Marketing Board and the Government. The Department of Agriculture and the Cawthron Institute have made available some of their research workers. The

control is in the hands of a committee, representative of all those organisations interested in the work, and a full programme has recently been decided upon ■which will be put into immediate operation.

TRADING. Under the heading of accounts some reference has been made to the trading business of the federation, but the directors feel that this important part of the federation’s .activities is worthy of particular mention. Early in 1930 it was decided to send the general manager ©f the federation (H. E. Napier) on a visit overseas. The information which became available through personal contact has proved of considerable value to the federation in its trading business, and many savings have been effected which will be reflected in the prices that growers will be paying for their future requirements. The federation’s trading business is now of considerable volume, and if the organisation is to retain its position as the leading supplier of fruitgrowers’ requirements in New Zealand it must of necessity keep in close contact with movements in other parts of the world. New materials are continuously being introduced; hitherto agencies for some of the these materials have gone past the federation. The directors feel, however, that with the growing business closer attention must be paid to this part of the organisation’s work. In view of the results secured they are fully satisfied that a wise decision was made when it was agreed to send Mr Napier overseas. The volume of business now being handled, combined with the fact that a very large percentage of growers require temporary finance until such time as their crops are ready for the market has greatly increased the financial responsibilities of the organisation. At times the resources of the federation have been strained to the utmost to meet the position. This difficulty will, however, be gradual!}’ overcome as reserves are built up, but it phould be noted that the increase in business appears to be keeping pace with the increase in capital. Thus, whilst the total amount in reserves is gradually growing, the relationship between the available capital and turnover remains at about the same level. Reference to the profit and loss account will show that the net margin of profit on which thlf federation is working certainly does not indicate that excessive profits are being made from forfeited discounts, and on investigation the manager has disclosed that although there are some isolated instances where growers appear to have been penalised, the discounts on the general run of accounts do not amount to very much more than a reasonable rate of interest for the risk involved. CASE TIMBER.

In past years the -Sawmillers of New Zealand have evinced no particular keenness to keep the supply of fruit cases within this country, and as a result the bulk of the business has gone overseas. The economic and financial position in the country generally, however, has lead to a greater effort on the part of boxmakers to meet the position. The directors have done everything possible to encourage them in this effort. To the credit of growers generally it should he said that they have loyally responded to the attempt to keep the business within the Dominion, with the result that the number of cases being imported has been reduced to a minimum. The boxmakers of the Dominion will this year have a splendid opportunity of demonstrating their ability to handle fruit cases on a large scale. The directors have also accepted a big responsibility in this connection, as a shortage of cases at picking time would spell disaster to growers. The position is being very closely watched and early deliveries arranged for so that should there be indications that local boxmakers cannot deliver in time, the necessary steps can be taken to import quantities and make good any such shortage. Naturally it is hoped that in the interests of all concerned success will attend this effort. RETIRING DIRECTORS. Under the new constitution only three directors will retire at the forthcoming conference. It therefore becomes necessary for the four directors longest in office to decide by lot the three directors who would retire. The retiring directors are W. J. Rodger (Auckland), J. Dicker (Nelson), F W. Cone (Canterbury), and an election for the appointment of a director will be held at these respective conferences.