PLEA FOR HELP

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 714, 13 July 1929, Page 11

PLEA FOR HELP

FRUIT-CASE INDUSTRY

TOO MANY IMPORTS (THE SUN'S Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, Friday. The plight of the New Zealand fruitcase maker, and the need for investigating as to whether the Dominion can make successfully cases for export, instead of importing them, were the main points of a question in the House of Representatives today by Mr. G. C. Black (Motueka). He asked the Commissioner of State Forests, the Hon. W. B. Taverner, if he would set up a committee on the subject, consisting of representatives of the fruitgrower, the sawmillers and the timber workers. The committee would consider whether or not there were insuperable difficulties in the way of producing a New Zealand fruitcase similar in grade, price and appearance to the Canadian article. As had been stated in a recent comparative review by the State Forest Service the position was a difficult one. It had been authoritatively stated by the London market that New Zealand fruit obtained a premium over Australian because it was placed on the market in high-grade imported cases and the Australian fruit was exported in poorly-made hardwood containers. The Motueka Box Millers’ Association had telegraphed him that local factories would have to close down after next week, throwing married and single men out of employment. An immediate investigation was necessary. The Minister replied that it was rather difficult to see at the moment how the State Forest Service could sassist. He would consult the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe. It was necessary to do something, and it was only right that trade should be kept in the Dominion if possible. Last year 700,000 cases had been imported.