BIG LOSS ON FRUIT SALES

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31119, 23 July 1966, Page 3

BIG LOSS ON FRUIT SALES

Prices Down, Costs Up (New Zealand Press Association* NELSON, July 22. Export fruit prices had been extremely disappointing in spite of a record crop, few storage or shipping problems and sufficient supplies for the local market, the general manager of the Apple and Pear Board (Mr D. L. Waller) said in Nelson this morning.

An average of 31s lOd had been paid for 1,250,000 cases which last year would have brought 38s 2d.

Pears had dropped from 35s Id to 22s lOd for 20,006 cases sold so far. Apart from these drops, the industry had also incurred £130,000 extra debts last season for packing costs. “The profit last year was £200.000,” said Mr Waller. “But I’m not going to predict what our loss will be this year, except to say it will be considerable.” He told the advisory committee of the Nelson Fruitgrowers’ Federation that the board had accounted for sales of 2,300,000 cases but still had about 600.000 to sell. He said sales of 110,000

cases on the United Kingdom market showed a rise of 7s last week to 34s 7d a case. But the board would need a lot like that to make up for the drop earlier in the season. Many factors had contributed to the lower prices this year, including a late season, which lost the early markets to South Africa, the shipping strike, congestion in United Kingdom ports as an aftermath of the strike, and a Government warning against highpriced goods which hardened the consumer market. Continental sales were affected by a flve-week heat wave which tended to reduce apple prices.