DOMINION FRUIT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 17 January 1931, Page 10

DOMINION FRUIT

SUGGESTIONS FOR MARKETING MR H. E. NAPIER’S ADDRESS To a meeting of more than 50 fruitgrowers of the Loburn district, Canterbury, Mr 11. E. Napier, general manager of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation, Wellington, gave liis impressions gathered on a recent tour of England and Europe (reports the “Press”). He dealt at length with marketing problems, spraying, packing, and other aspects of the trade. The meeting was held in the Loburn Coronation iJ.u11, Mr J. W. McLeod presiding. Mr Napier, said (lie chairman, bad been abroad and was in a position to give valuable information about the condition of the industry at the present time. The business now being done by the Federation warranted a bienniai trip abroad, for it was increasing from year to year. Mr Napier said that the Federation had sent him Home to learn the trading and export side of the business. The system of marketing in the United Kingdom was very complicated,-and it took a very considerable time to grasp it thoroughly. N.Z. OVERSEAS After going through the markets lie soon realised that the appointment of a permanent representative of New Zealand in England was very valuable to the Dominion, lie said. It saved thousands of pounds to the growers. Tasmanian Stunners had dropped to from 5s to 2s per case—badly graded black-spot fruit—and at the present time, the Tasmanian apple was under a cloud as it did not pass a proper grading standard. In August the New Zealand Federation had 59,000 eases of fruit in the Southampton cool store. Had the representative not been able to get the brokers together the New Zealand fruit would have met the same fate as the Tasmanian fruit. The London brokers bad a certain capacity. If they were overloaded trouble would occur. To ensure that New Zealand fruit went on to the market in the. best possible condition, It would tie necessary to ship in much larger quantities. “Last year in England the heat round about Covent Garden was terrific,” said'Mr Napier. “Naturally there was an appreciable effect on the fruit. We have a very line reputation for fruit and we must maintain it,” lie so id. “Already a lot of Australian shippers are imitating our methods. The English market does not want large fruit. I saw cases last year in which buyers would offer a price for large Kturmers and the sellers had to take the offer. With other fruit the salesman named his price—he would not take any old offer.” said Mr Napier.

POOLING OF FRUIT’

The Control Board at a recent meeting decided to form a pool of fruit sent from the Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, and /Wairarapa districts, said Mr- Napier. The fruit in the London market was stacked according to size, not according to the grower’s mark. All the sizes were credited on a sheet. Under pooling the fruit would be graded according to size, (and- there would be a fair return lor it. One of the big troubles with largo and soft varieties had been bruising. “[ have seen cases where the apple was nearer square than round,” said Mr Napier. The reason was found in the handling. It would take a small army of supervisors to remedy the trouble. He suggested that for fruit shipped to the Continent the all round corrugated board was necessary. If New Zealand could land fruit on the overseas markets free of bruising it would secure a corresponding return. It bad been proved that the corrugated board made a big difference in the condition of the fruit on arrival i at the market.

Canterbury would bo coming on to the market again next season, Mr Napier continued. New Zealand’s biggest competitors were Australia and Tasmania. Tasmania would ship 1,600,000 eases. Victoria 400,000, and Western .Australia 80,000, and South Australia would be well down—a total decrease of JO per cent, on last year —• New Zealand’s export crop would probably be equal to last year’s record figures. If the shipments from New Zealand were delayed there would be trouble. Last year was the first for some time when strawberries affected the apple market in London. A man running a barrow in the • London streets could turn over his small capital twice a day, and so make a living. It had been found in the past few years that Stumers* had been one of the best varieties shipped. In Canada, said Mr Napier, New Zealand sold, last year, 11,000 eases, ]ss, e.i.f. Montreal. One buyer said tlipt Canada could not continue to pay that price, but New Zealand could get from 13s to 13s (kl for next year’s shipment. Conditions in British Columbia were very strict. The authorities were doing their best to keep out codlin moth. Bad conditions in the shipment from New Zealand were put down to mouldy core, but lie could not quite see how that could he. In British Columbia an “internal breakdown” was experienced in Jonathans. Early picking was part of the trouble but the speaker held the opinion that irrigation had something to do .with it. New Zealand should find a very good market there. RACKING -PROBLEMS

In England, said Mr Napier, he saw a very good system of box-end decoration in colour. It was done by photograph and it would be of value to New Zealand in the elimination of the work of labelling cases. This year 10,000 eases, so labelled, would arrive from Sweden, and be used in New Zealand. The end was live-eighths of an inch and would mean a great saving in freight. The timber was good and there would not be much difficulty in nailing. In the big mills in the United States and Canada huge supplies of timber 'were available for cutting into fruit boxes. Cases were being sold without lids, a “unitised top” being used, and that had an appreciable effect- on prices. Automatic lidding machines had a tremendous output—l2.ooo boxes a day —and there was a, great, saving -in labour. The “bulge” was on the top, and the result was quite satisfactory. New Zealand might follow the lead, but in the meantime, the Dominion could sit back and see what happened to the American shipments, said Mr Napier. In the Hood River district, in Portland, was a packing-shed which would do great things for New Zealand if it was on the Wellington waterfront, said the speaker. The apple-growers in the Pacific north-west coasts were not doing vet;, well; indeed, the only growers

doing really well were the citrus growers of California. They had a very strung co-operative organisation which had placpd them in their present favourable position.

In San Francisco, said the speaker, he saw a spraying machine which would be of considerable interest to New Zealand. The firm concerned employed four chemists continually investigating improvements in the spray used. The advantage lay in the decrease in the cost of production. A shipment of the material was on the way to New Zealand, and could be tried here next season. In England he had seen a collidal sulphur which might also be of value to New Zealand growers.