FIJI BANANAS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 109, 25 January 1918, Page 9

FIJI BANANAS

BIG LOSSES ON SHIPMENTS,

• Recently, says the Suva correspondent of the Auckland "Star," a record shipment of banan.is left Fiji in one of the A.U.S.N. Company's boats for the Australian market. It has turned out to be a record failure «.s a shipment and- "Rotten ripe" was the laconic cablegram conveying the first intimation of the fact. It was expected, in a measure, before the fruit land-,-ed that something of the kind would happen,- as the ship was carrying more than she-is constructed to carry. Strange-to say, however, the fruit on the cattle deck was in good order, but the insulated fruit suffered badly. One shipper, who sent 5000 bunches to Melbourne, lost the whole lot, and, in addition, received a debit note for i £170. Another shipper sent about 2000 bunches, and received a debit note-for £110. ' This has been a very bad year, tor shippers.- They first suffered by the strike, then had very poor prices for November, and the December trip was the last hope they had of recouping their losses. The mainstay, so- far as shippers are concerned has been the New Zealand market. Without it many of the shippers would have gone to the wall altogether. v. A committee of four has been appointed: to approach the company and endeavour to persuade that body, to shoulder some of the loss.

The total bananas exported from Fiji last Tear stood at 1,353,496 bunches as compared with 1,651,366 for 1916. The reasons for the falling off was the strike in Sydney, the total for the September quarter, being. less by 200,000 than for 1916. Of the total this year, 18,595 bunches and\223.226 cases went to New Zealand, while to Sydney there went 371,913 bunches and 74,194 cases. It will be seen that New Zealand has a marked nreference for cased fruit.