CANNING OF FRUIT

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 94, 7 May 1937, Page 49 (Supplement)

CANNING OF FRUIT

Wattie Factory Has a Bright Future Thq estftbliehment of a. fruit-canning factory in Haatisg? in 1935 by Mr j. Wattie^— the cpncern has now beeome J. Wattie Canneri.es, Ltd.T-r-has opened up a new vista oi prosperity and a new avenue for industrial .development in Hastings. This project is worthy Gf- the support of all growers of the ddatrict, and upon them largely depends the success oi the venture and the oontinued prosperity of the industry of fruit-growing which is linked up with it. With an additional ehannel through which to market the fruit and a ehannel which should eliminate much of the wastage'in some of the orchards, the fruitgrower should be relieved of some of hie worries, and these are by no means light. Hawke's Bay pears, particularly the best cannlng yariety, Williams 's Bon Chretien, are nnsurpassed in th© world, and the establishraent of the canning industr-y should giy© th© prodnction of this type a marked impetu©, There should b© a good dema.nd, too, for ©enned peaohes if the xight va?ietieu ar© growp, With this vaHety— thousands pf trees of fhe night vafiety fce-ve bgen planted and should be ©eming into bear|ng soqn— the ©anning industry may almost be looked upon as the orchardist's salvation, for the canning variotie© of peaohes are mastly. laterjapening varieties. % Th© New Zealand imperts of canned fruit© are very considerable, a point which illustrates the degrea t© which the New Zealand market mAy be de^ veloped by this Hastings, venture. Mr Watti© pointed out recently that sq far a© thie, produet is concerned the New Zealand market has not y©t nearly been ftbsQrbed. By way of illuetration, he. ^ointe out that last year 1,000300Q ©ans of peaches from Australia, Canada and Caijfprnia- and Baiestin© and §J,Q00 y'an© pf pears from Canada, Australia and CaUfprnia we,re imported into N©w Zealand, There are few sorts which can not oe as well or better grown and canned in the Dominion than ontsjde it. Th© canning of asparagu© should also ©ffer excejlent prospect© to the local growers, There ara many places |h and noa? t.he district whioh ar© admirabiy suited tq th© growing of asparagu© enc© th© special conditions and treatroent of growing are understood. The priee paid for canned asparagus in New Zealand is exceptionally high, and if this urticl© can be plficed Qft th© market at a rfiasonabla price a larg© demand HfiQUld. b© oreated, This year canned asparagu© fr©m th© factory haa been dispatphed to ©very point in New Zealand from North Auckland t© the Bluff. Th© canning of tomatoes should also prqviid© a profitabl© ©hannel for the digposai of what ar© pften larg© surplus quftntitie© ©f this fruit. M? Watti© |old a Herald.Tribune repreaentative that a shipment of 500 easesj ©aoh. ©ontajning 39 ©ans, of ©anned tomatoes had just been shipped to th© south, The factory is also turniag its attention to canned tomafo soup. Many hnndreds of tons of tomatoa© have reeently been puiped and canned. With the pulping of smaller soft frnits, t.00, a considerable business may be built up. Altogether the industry is one which, well orgapised and properly supported, should he a very valuabl© ass©t t© ihe district, Th© plant already installed at th© factory or eoming t© hand wili be capable of turning out abput 4QQQ cans of fruit ©n honr, or about 31^000 in eight hours. Sueh a quantity will call for the 'supply- of a vast amount of fruit, and if th© priee of canned fruit can be kept up a profit should b© secured to growers apd the whole district should beneflt to a considerable degree. It will b© femembored by many people that some years ago the Frimley canning faqtory, erected near Hastings, became quite a larg© concern, giving ejnployment tQ a large number of hands, utilieing a V©ry large amouRt of what would otherwise have been surplus fruit, and distnibuting monthly a very large amount of rnoney ln wages, matorial and payments of other sorts. There wero n genuin© feeliug of regret and a gpod deal of loss to th© district when, after running for some yoars, this factory. wa© eloged down.