Canned Fruits For The Christmas Trade

Chronicle (Levin), 12 November 1949, Page 4

Canned Fruits For The Christmas Trade

OAMARb, Nov. II. The Minister of Industries and "Commerce (Mr. A. H. .Nordmeyer) in a statement issued tpday deaJt with canned fruit supplies and their availability for the Christmas trade. The Minister said such supplies d*rtng the current year had been drawn from Australia, Fiji, Malaya and youth Africa. In addition local production had inereased from 1615 tons in 1948 to 2438, tons up to September 30, 1949. The alloeation made by the Australian Canned Fruits Board early in the year amounted to 100,000 cases which was the same as for the previous season and import licenccs were issued to enable this quantity to be taken up in full. A limited supply of canned fruit (apricots, peaehes, pears aud fruit salad) was available from youth Africa, and -provision was made for this to be imported. Licences were also issued to enable indentors to uplift the full quantity offered by the packers of Fijian pineapples to supplement importations of this line. "Licences were issued to import canned pineapples from Australia and Malaya to a greater extent than had been the case for the past flve years. Importations had also been made from South Africa. The types of fruit brought in by merchants included canned peaehes, pears, apricots, pineapple -and fruit salad. While most importers had been able to place orders to the full extent of their licences several of the larger licence holders had not been able to do so by reason of the shortage of canned fruit offered for export in the supplying countries. It was understood that the whole or the majority of merchants had distributed their portion of imported and local fruit as it came to hand, but there was a possibility that some might be reserving a percentage of their stocks to enable them to meet the Christmas trade. One of the major indentors advised that the greater proportion of his orders from Australia (4000 cases) was aboard a s.hip at present in Wellington and when this was discharged it should provide a substantial distribution to merchants in time for Christmas. Another importer was expecting a large shipment of pineapple from Singapore which was scheduled to arrive in February.