A BUMPER CROP

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 87, 27 January 1947, Page 7

A BUMPER CROP

PALESTINE’S CITRUS GROVES

BIG EXPORT ITEM

Palestine’s citrus groves, practically ceased their production during the war, are back in business this year with a bumper crop which will probably provide the nation ics number one agricultural export item, states the Christian Science

Monitor. “The 1946-47 crop is expected to bring something like four million pounds (16,000,000 dollars) into the country,” said Patrick j. Loftus, Government statistician. “That

makes citrus far and away the nation’s leading farm export item, and second only to cut diamonds as top producer of revenue from abroad.” Arab villages from Gaza to Jerusalem and spreading Jewish Kibbutzin northward beyond Tel Aviv are flagged with the deep green and first pale orange of Jaffa groves, many of them trimmed and tended for the first time in five years. “It’s our first real crop since 1938,” said a government agricul-

tural expert. “It will give the industry a strong push on recovery road. Already the United Kingdom, which in prewar years took 70 to 75 per cent, of the export, has contracted for 6,500,000 cases at 16 shillings a case. In 1937, a before-the-war normal year, government reports say, Arab and Jewish farmers split “about evenly” a 4,183,057-pound take from citrus exports, and 300,000 dunnums (quarter acres) were under groves. Then war monopolised world shipping space. By 1939 Palestinian citrus groves were abandoned or destroyed. Fallen fruit was left in the field or shovelled up for fertiliser, fuel and cattle fodder. The Government offered aid, made cash advances to growers who agreed to maintain their groves, granted temporary remission of rural property taxes, and fed all the fruit possible to Middle East armies. Canning factories were built. Peel oil was extracted and marketed. But only a small part of the normal crop could be utilised by industry. During 1940, 1941 and 1942 production tobogganed to less than half of prewar’s 16,000,000 cases. Prices dropped and labour costs mounted. Exports to neighbouring countries during 1942 brought less than 60,000 pounds, 14 per cent, of the prewar top.

England resumed importing, on a limited scale, in 1943. The year’s ci op from abandoned groves brought 312,000 pounds. The take climbed past 1,000,000 pounds in 1944; neared 2,000,000 in 1945. Last year approximately 266,000 lunnums of soil were thrown into production—just 34,000 short of the 1937 total. During January, February and March—final three months of the harvets season—late Valencias, grapefruit and lemons brought almost 2,000,000 pounds in world markets. And in November the early Jaffa, Palestine’s most popular variety of orange, began moving to buyers.