THE FRUIT TRADE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15273, 22 July 1920, Page 6

THE FRUIT TRADE.

. NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT. \ WELLINGTON, this day. * Although Samoa grows many varieties t of fruit, especially bananas, the Island ' Trade Commission states that there is , , no chance of trade being developed with- , out an improvement on the present monthly service. Many thousands of acres now lying idle are suitable for growing copra, cocoa, coffee, rubber, kapoc, pineapples castor oil seeds, sago, ( nutmeg, pepper, ginger, cloves, vanilla, arrowroot, and sisal. ■■ At Tonga the Commission found that , the stoppage of the Union Company's ' 1 "horse-shoe" run meant the death knell ( , of the fruit exported to New Zealand. Bananas are not now planted in quan- 1 . tity, ai»d though jVavau is famous for its • oranges, thousands lie rotting on the ( roadside. They are subject to black fly and scale, but the* same pests exist in j Rarotonga, and the Commission suggests . that the Tonga fruit be put on the same footing as tho Cook Islands supplies, and Tongan oranges allowed to come into ' New Zealand, yso long as the Tongan ( Government takes the same precautions against pests as aro taken in tho Cook | group. Empty cases which were former- ! ly obtained at lOd, are now costing 2s 6d landed, which is a severo tax on tho grower. Tlie Tongan Government complains that certain restrictions are being nlacedAoiv New Zealand goods shipped to '. Tonga which are not placed on those J sent to Cook Islands or Samoa, and that i they felt that their treatment was that of a foreign country instead of a British protectorate. Owing to the extreme difficulty of shipping perishable goods at the outlying '■ Islands, the Commission recommends that '• tho whole attention of the population of the Cook Qroup, except at Rarotonga, j should he directed to .the growth of non- ' perishable products such as rubber, copra, coffee, and cocoa. A curing pro- 1 cess for oranges, similar to the Ameri- , can "sun drying" should be tried, and I two fruit ships per month sent to the j group. Ono should run to Auckland and | the other to some southern port, say Lyttelton, thus saving delay and transhipment charges. A faster boat Is 1 wanted to prevent damage to the fruit on the voyage. The establishment of a school of tropical agriculture is recommended, to be , under the control of the New Zealand Department of Agriculture and to have the various experts of the gamoan and \ Cook Groups under Its jurisdiction. They ! have similar problems to face, and much ' overlapipng would thus bo avoided. Tho 1 field of the Department of Agriculture ' would also be enlarged, and would offer ' a more varied and interestine career to young men starting out in life.—Parliamentary Reporter. mm <^— — ■— wmm