FRUIT PRICES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2748, 17 April 1916, Page 8

FRUIT PRICES

TRANSPORT COST FROM NELSON

A SERIOUS POSITION

A serious state of affairs in the fruitgrowing industry is reported from Nek son. It is unfortunately a fact that the export of apples will not be a hig business this year,, aud it is feared that there may be a glut on the local market. At any rate, large quantities of marketable fruit, it is reported, have been allowed to rot in the orchards ungarnered, because of the poor return to the grower from it. Tlio great difficulty of the Nelson grower is transport. The cost of handling fruit is about Is. 7d. per case to the grower, and as ho usually receives only about 3s. 6d. a case he cannot make a' profit while the distribution charges are so heavy. Nelson apples are sold in Wellington at from 4s. to 4s. 6d. per case, or retail at from 3d. to 4d. per lb. The fruit farmers say that they are content with a return of 3s. per case nett, but with the present handling charges they cannot hope to get nearly this price. It is stated also that the output is likely to increase very much from year to year now, as many new orchards are coming, into bearing. When the Board of Trade was in the .Nelson district last week a deputation of fruit, growers waited upon it to ask for assistance. The reqvest was in effeet that the board! should make some recommendation that the Government should help the .fruit growers out of {heir present transport difficulties. If this could be done, they urged, fruit would be cheapened to the consumer and brought into more genei'al use, and the future of the orchards would be assured.