TONGA'S FRUIT LOSSES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2455, 7 May 1915, Page 8

TONGA'S FRUIT LOSSES

At a time when living is dear, it seems a pity thai fruit should be going to waste at Tongaj but such is stated to be the case by Mr. S. Wyatt Chatfield, Deputy Commissioner at that Island, who is visiting Auckland. What is needed to avert this is a boat from Auckland to Samoa via Tonga, which on her return from the former place would make a second call at Tonga. By that means stores and mails would be delivered from Auckland, and upon the return of the steamer from Samoa the fruit could be shipped, and have a chance of reaching Auckland in good condition. For such ,a service a passenger boat is not necessarily required, as an eleven knot tramp would do all right. Mr. Chatfield estimates the annual loss to the natives at Haapai for want of such a service, at about £12,000, as under favourable conditions 4000 casos of fruit could be shipped monthly. Since the steam service has beon altered plantations are going to ruin because natives have no market for their fruit. Mr. Chatfield stated that Tonga formerly exported 80,000 to 100.000 cases of fruit annually, and im. ported goods to the value of about £220,000. fully half of which came from Now Zealand. It is therefore evident that the natives of Tonga are not the only losers through the need of a more suitablo sen-ice. Under the present system, fruit shipped from Nukualofa, Haapai, and Vavau takes twelve davs to reach Auckland instead of five. The ostra seven days in the tropics is necessarily ruination to the fruit on transit.