"NOT GOING INTO MOURNING"

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 119, 5 June 1937, Page 6

"NOT GOING INTO MOURNING"

Fruit Industry Will Right Itself MR BAUMGART'S BELIEF "We are not going into mourning at all, though we are beset by many problems and difficulties. We firmly believe that the industry is well worth-while and that we are producing something that is wanted by the community and that is essential to the health of the people, ' ' said Mr. A. L. Baumgart, in his address to the Hastings Rotary Club yesterday when reviewing the fruitgrowing industry generally. "When we get standardisation — -and we are very close up to that stage now — we are confident. that the industry will right itself. With standard fruit aud packages we feel that the industry will come into its own," he said. Mr. Baumgart prefaced these remarks with a brief outline of certain of the more important questions that have arisen regarding the fruitgrowing industry during the past year or so. He dealt first with the frost visitation of last Oetober and declared that actually there had been no exaggeration in the- reports issued subsequently of the extent of the damage done to the crops. Within the past few days he had made inquiries and found that in the central area, which was bounded by Longlands, Ngaruroro Biver, Mangateretere and Twyford, the crop this season was between 5 anj. 10 per eent. Quite a number of growers had, iu fact, obtained only from 2 to 3 per cent. In the Pakowhai district there had been a larger crop generally, more particularly on the northern side of the district, but the yield averaged out at about 30 per cent. As for Havelock North, it was almost impossible to determine the average yield, for in some places on tho river flats crops were almost completely wiped out, while on th,e hillsides and other parts there were quite good yields. He said that a number of growers had gone in for other crops as a means of deriving some income, but many of tliese had suffered the same fate as the fruit crops. For example, one grower had planted 1500 cape gooseberries, but the eight-degree frosts in February and again in March, followed by the 14 degrees of frost recorded last month, had been more than sufficient seriously to injure these plantings. Actually the grower had gathered sufficient berries only to pay for the cost of the plants, not the cost of the plantings or the work entailed in cultivation. ' ' Government 's Help Appreciated. "As business men you will. appreciate that when the gross income is reduced by from 90 to 95 per cent. very few can stand up to it," he said. "Consequently, an appeal was made to the Government for relief, and the Government has generously given some nieasure of relief. "I would like now to pay a tribute to the work done in this regard by tbe three Members for the district, ' the Hon. W. E. Barnard and Messrs. E. L. Gullen and H. M. Christie, M.P.'s, all of whom went to no end of trouble in trying to inaugurate a system of relief favourable to all parties." Mr. Baumgart mentioned that two forms of relief were afforded, one being a straight-out sustenance of 15/f or a single man and 25/- for a married man, with 4/- extra for each child. It would take a family of 13 to bring in a pay equal to the basic wage, so it could hardly be said that they were being kept in luxury, he pointed out with a smile. Another pressing problem facing the industry, said Mr. Baumgart, was that of increased wages and higher costs of materials. This was the same as with other industries. Mr. Baumgart said that an artificial position prevailed at the present time, for, though costs had been increased by statute, the industry could not raise the price of its produce, which was subject to the law of supply and demand, "During • the sitting of the Conciliation Councul the commissioner said that the council was not interested in whether tho industry could alford to pay certain wages, but was merely eoncemed with the earrying-out of the policy of the Government, which was to see that tue wuge-earner derivei a certain wage," said. Mr Baumgart. ' ' This waa a bombshell for us, for we contended that the industry could not pay the wages, and that was the maw t'actor. ' ■ Hcwever, tho Government is endoavuurlng to meet this situation. It was created by the Government and it is entirely different from What we are used to. In fact, the old position has been reversed. The Government first fixed the wage the industry was to pay, and the job now in hand is to adjust the returns of the industry so that it can be in a position to pay those fixed wages. "Every endeavour is being made to meet this, and a smn of money ts being set aside for the purpose. The Government does not want the grower to lose," said Mr Baumgart. "Whether this new process will be satisfactory or successful, who can say'j Certainly the old method never got us very far, for things had become to be in a terrible mess. Who is to say whether or not the new method might see the way out? I'm not going to say, for one, either one way or the other."

The Bay's Fruit Export. Touching upon export matteru, Mr Baumgart s'aitl that, though there had been a steady decrease un the quantity of fruit seut overseas from Hawke 's Bay during the past few years, it was not right to assurne that tho "bottom had fallen out of the market." He gave the following table show.ing Hawke 's Bay's quota of export fruit since 1934, the reeord output season: — Year. Cases 1934 313,000 1935 238,000 1936 *197,000 1937 9.000 He explained that the reason for the reduction in 1935 was due to a naturat set-back following the phenomena! cropping of the previous eeason. In

1936, he said, the season 's crop has been- greatly affected by the terrifi© storm that visited the province in tho month of February, and last Oetober 's frost had accounted for the very low output this season. "From this you will see that there is a very good and tangible reason for the falling-away of the export output," he said. One other development of special interest to the industry during the past few years, said Mr Baumgart, has been the establishment of Watties' Ganneries. "This is one of the big things for the industry,", he said. "Our growers saw with considerable satisfaet.ion the establishment of the canneries, and they are quite appreciative of the help that it will be to them, for it will enable them to deal with the non-exportable part of the production of the Industry."