APPLE EXPORT TRADE.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume VI, Issue 4, 15 April 1913, Page 454

APPLE EXPORT TRADE.

Mr. E. Rabbits, formerly an Orchard Instructor of the Department, stationed for some years in the Marlborough District, visited Great Britain during the latter part of last year, and took advantage of the opportunity to learn something of the fruit trade on oversea markets. In a letter on the subject to the Director of Orchards, Gardens, and Apiaries Division of the Department,-Mr. T. W. Kirk, Mr. Rabbits conveyed some instructive observations. He writes, —■ The vessel by which I travelled to London was the “ Corinthic,” which left Wellington on the 16th May of last year. She carried 15,000 cases of Tasmanian apples, transhipped at Wellington, and a few hundred cases of New Zealand apples from Hawke’s Bay, all the fruit being for South America. It was carried as ordinary cargo, being distributed in three holds. Two of these were never uncovered for ventilation purposes, and when opened up at Rio de Janeiro the top cases were sodden with moisture, being nearly black with discoloration, and having a thick coating of mould on them. The after hatch, which had been ventilated, opened up in good order. At the South American port the steamer has to lie off a considerable distance and the cargo is discharged into lighters. The handling by the Natives is anything but satisfactory. I noticed that among the cargo for Rio de Janeiro was seven or eight large cases of fruit-trees (500 trees to a case) from a Victorian nurseryman, so that evidently South Americans intend to extend their own fruitgrowing industry. I was also informed that a New Zealand nurseryman is visiting the Argentine in order to establish a connection with growers there for nursery stock.

On arrival in England I spent some time at Covent Garden, and came into touch with a number of salesmen there. At their request I furnished them with the names of several leading fruitgrowers in the Nelson District, to whom they intend, they informed me, to communicate, with the object of establishing a business connection. I gathered one or two useful facts at Covent Garden. The most important is that it is useless shipping New Zealand fruit to the Home market to arrive at a time when the English fruit is coming in, such as strawberries, cherries, gooseberries, raspberries, &c. Complaint was made by several brokers of New Zealand apples reaching the market in a shrivelled condition. This suggests the question, Are we shipping the right varieties ? Then there is the question of shipping certain varieties at the wrong time. It is useless expecting apples to open up in the pink of condition on the London market if they are shipped before they are properly matured. For instance, I picked a case of well-matured Sturmers from my fruit-garden, with the intention of using them on the voyage. But, with the object of testing this question, I made arrangements, after the fruit had been in cabin a fortnight, to have it carried in the vegetable-room of the steamer. It arrived in England in splendid conditionin fact, appeared a far finer fruit than any of the colonial apples I saw exposed for sale in London. I attribute this solely to the fact that the apples were mature when gathered. Not a single apple out of the case went wrong. Yet I consider that if I had had a shipload of the same fruit on the London market at that time (the end of June) they would not have brought a top price, owing to the competition they would have had to meet from Home-grown fruit. It is interesting to study the various methods by which fruit is disposed of in England in order to cater to different classes of customers. England is a country of social extremes, and very rich people order their fruit regardless of cost, while the majority of people hardly ever have the opportunity of tasting fruit at all. Apples as a rule are sold at so-much for each one, the average being Id. for a Sturmer Pippin. The most popular-sized apple with the dealers is 2J in., and the more uniform the apples the better they like them.

The steamer “ Ruahine,” which sailed from Wellington to London on the 3rd instant, has on board 12,727 cases of apples for Montevideo and 2,375 cases for Rio de Janeiro, these being transhipments from Tasmania.