BANANA TRADE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 365, 28 October 1932, Page 5

BANANA TRADE

("Post"

COOK IS. AND WEST SAMOA IMPOSE RESTRICTION ON EXPORT QUESTION IN THE IIOUSE

Special Commissioner.)

Wellington, Thursday % In the House of Representatives today, Mr. W. E. Barnard (Labour, Napier) asked the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) whether a quota had been fixe'd on Island bananas in order to raise the pricei for the importers' benefit. "Owing to the considerahle oversupply of bananas to the N-ew Zealand market which resulted in ruinous

prices and heavy losses," replied Mr. Forbes, "all supplying countries (including the Cook Islands and Western Samaa) have decided to limit the quantities to be shipped so as to allow the importation into New Zealand of a total quantity of bananas equivalent to 25,000 "Fiji" cases every four weeks during the months of May, June, July, August and September,and 30,000 cases during the remainder of the year. "These quantities are considered to he the utmost that can be' absorbed in this Dominion at a price that will enable the growers to supiply. No proper indication of average prices can, of eourse, be ohtained from saies in October, November and December, wheii prices are invariahly higher than during the remainder of the year. in the absence of some such agreements many growers were on the point of being forced out of production and the result would have been a shortage of suppli'es with a corresponding increase in the price to the consumer in New Zealand followed by disturbing- fiuctuations both in supplies and in prices." The position of growers in the Cook Islands and Western Samoa was most serious and the Government was reluctant to consider anything in th'e hature.of a duty which would be the Bhly alternative to a quota system; The present arrangement was considered to be ih the best interests of hoth prodhcers and consumers whd would each benefit by a system of orderly marketing.