CITRUS FTOT MAMET

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 360, 22 May 1928, Page 12

CITRUS FTOT MAMET

AUSTRALIAN VIEWPOINT “LEMON DUTY JUSTIFIED” “The lemon duty in New Zealand is entirely justified, as it protects Auckland growers against excessive Australian exports, ar.d at the same time gives Australia a preference of 1d a lb. over America, on whose lemons the duty is 2d.” This opinion was advanced to a Sun representative to-day by Mr. H. G. Such (manager of the Central *Citrus Association Co-op., Ltd., Sydney). As an executive board member of the New South Wales FruitTgrowers* Federation, Mr. Such is making a business tour of New Zealand to investigate the possibilities of expanding the market for Australian citrus fruit. His association has been shipping to New Zealand for the past six years, and last year sent across 24,000 bushels. “It really is only a condition which protects Australia against America so far as lemons are concerned,” added Mr. Such. “Lemon exports are not of importance to Australia, which mainly produces oranges, against which there is no New Zealand duty, and no need for one.” “My inquiries in New Zealand are in the direction of the absorption of oranges, grape-fruit, mandarines, etc., in view of the fact that we expect to put in a larger supply this season than ever before.” Apart from oranges from Cook Islands, said Mr. Such, other sources of s upply for New Zealand were America, New South Wales, Victoria, Italy, Palestine and perhaps, some from the Society Islands. According to last year’s figures New Zealand imported 5,000,000 lb. of citrus fruit from Australia and 7,000,0001 b. from Cook Islands. Australian growers did not anticipate displacing any of the Cook Islands oranges, but believed that with better organisation and lower prices they could oust the importations from America and other foreign sources. Citrus production in New South Wales was expected to be 3,000,000 bushels this year, compared with only half that quantity last year.