AUSTRALIAN FRUIT.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 November 1934, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN FRUIT.

It is to be hoped that the decision of over 200 Wellington fruitgrowers to boycott South Australian oranges on the grounds of the quality of the fruit supplied will be a further urge in the protracted attempt to settle the unsatisfactory position regarding the importation of Australian fruit to New Zealand. The absurd arrangement under which people in New Zealand pay 3d an orange while fruit rots on the ground in Australia, and at the same time the people of Australia pay almost famine prices for potatoes which New Zealand can supply in plenty, is already only too well known. When in addition to this the New Zealand public is compelled to put up with inferior fruit it is little wonder that a combined protest is made. The value of oranges as a diet is universally recognised, particularly in the menus of sick and convalescent people, and there is very good reason for a cry for cheaper oranges. It is a cry that should be steadily maintained until satisfaction is gained. Restriction of supply may be reasonable when it is applied in order to prevent a glut on the market and secure a payable return to the grower. It is certainly not justifiable when it results in the price people have to pay for oranges in New Zealand.