APPLES FOR ENGLAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 68, 11 June 1927, Page 20 (Supplement)

APPLES FOR ENGLAND

FEWER VARIETIES HEALTH MINISTER’S ADVICE (From Our Resident Correspondent .) WELLINGTON, Friday. Instead of sending 59 varieties of apples to the Honie market, far better would it be to concentrate upon, say, a dozen of the first-class varieties and improve the product—and incidentally the price. This is the view which the Minister of Health, Hon. J. A. Young, takes in respect to ouir export of fruit. In pointing this out to the members of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers' Federation to-day. Mr. Young expressed the belief that, although this could not be brought about at once, if it were eventually accomplished the community generally, as well as the fruitgrowers themselves, would benefit.

The 1926 export trade, however, had been a record one since the inception of the fruit export trade. As the result of a bountiful harvest, a total of 730,308 cases of fruit were exported—representing over three times the quantity exported in any previous year. The bulk -of this had, of course, been sent to Great Britain, but, on account of the industrial upheaval there, the price was not the highest that could be hoped for. In consequence the calls upon the Government guarantee of Id a lb were many and considerable.

The guarantee had been renewed to cover apples and pears for the 1927 season, during which it was anticipated the exports would reach 670.000 cases—or slightly less than the previous season. The satisfactory prices now being realised indicated that there would be very little if any call upon the guarantee this year. During recent years there had been a gradual easing up of the areas planted in commercial orchards. The total for the Dominion now stoed at approximately 30,000 acres, of which about 75 per cent, consisted or apples Commercial orchards registered totalled 6,347, and £1.572 was collected in orchard tax. This tax would be paid over to the federation for the advancement of the industry.