INTERNAL MARKETING

Lake County Mail, Issue 45, 14 April 1948, Page 5

INTERNAL MARKETING

Although the Internal Marketing Division has.been operating for a number of years, the average New Zealand citizens is a bit vague as to its value.

It is not intended in this limited space to cover the subject in detail, but an outline of the division’s activities regarding the fruit industry may be of interest.

Citrus Fruit The Internal Marketing Division is responsible for the importation of all oranges, grapefruit, and lemons, which it purchases whenever the fruit and shipping are available, and is also the chief purchaser of the ordinary New Zealand-grown lemon, mostly the Lisbon variety.

Apples and Pears The fruit received by the Internal Marketing Division is distributed on a planned basis. After deciding on the quantities to be distributed to factories, schools and overseas markets, the balance is allocated throughout the Dominion so that each district receives a fair share of the fruit available for as long a period as possible.

The division does not, however, exercise any marketing control oyer New Zealand-grown, sweet oranges, poorman oranges, grapefruit and Meyer lemons, and these may be sold without any restriction direct to retailers or to individual cjonsumers. These fruits are marketed entirely through the ordinary channels, subject only to the restrictions of price control. There are both wholesale and retail ceiling prices, the latter restricting the margin of profit on all locally grown citrus fruit sales to not more than 40 per cent, above cost price.

Even although crop prospects are poor every endeavour will be made to export 250,000 eases of apples to Britain provided shipping is available. Britain would welcome more than this quantity, but the shipping situation is such that the prospect of exporting even 250,000 eases is extremely doubtful.

The devastating frosts in Canterbury and Otago early this season took heavy toll on the light crops then available. Hail also destroyed much fruit in otherdistricts.

Growers of the Lisbon lemon, which is grown chiefly in the Tauranga, Auckland and Keri Keri areas, and to a lesser extent •in the Gisborne district, may sell direct to a consumer at the orchard but not to a retailer. The bulk of the crop is forwarded to the Internal Marketing Division for processing and packing before distribution throughout the Dominion by the ordinary wholesale and retail channels.

The Internal Marketing Division does not handle all the apples and pears, as a considerable cjuantity is sold direct from the grower to the consumer. There is much to commend this direct trading, but the rapid growth of the practice, independent of the distribution plans of the main crop, has given rise to many anomalies and several injustices. Leading fruitgrowers realise that while direct trading to consumers should be encouraged, this encouragement should not give one type of consumer an unfair advantage

The total area growing pip, stone and citrus fruit in New Zealand is approximately 18,000 acres. The approximate areas under commercial production are; Apples 10,300 acres, pears 1000 acres, stone fruit 4500 acres, lemons 900 acres, other citrus fruit 1000 acres, and other tree fruit 200 acres.

over other consumers. This problem will be one of the many to be considered when representatives of the Government confer with the fruit-growing industry as to post-war organisation.