USE OF SHIPPING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 December 1940, Page 8

USE OF SHIPPING

RESTRICTION IN BRITAIN ON IMPORTS OF FRUIT. ANNOUNCED BY FOOD MINISTER. ißy Telegraph—Press Associaiton— Copyright) LONDON. December 3. The Minister of Food, Lord Wool ton, in a speech, said: “We must use home produce to the maximum, importing only necessary supplementary stocks of food which have already been bought and are now lying in all parts of the world. “We need more ships, and must increase the usefulness of our ships by at least 10 per cent. We cannot afford to bring in things which are not essential to the war. That is why I have cut out imports of all fruits except oranges and all canned fruits.’ “We will use all the space available on ships trading between New Zealand and Britain to ensure the dispatch of the goods most required by Britain,” said the Minister of Marketing, Mr Nash, when the above cablegram was referred to him last night. Mr Nash said he had not yet received advice of the British decision. “If there is some space left that can be used for fruit,” Mr Nash added, "we will endeavour to have arrangements made for it to go.

ALARM IN SOUTH AFRICA DISASTROUS SLUMP IN PRICES FEARED. CAPE TOWN. December 3. Lord Woolton’s statement on the restriction of fruit imports has alarmed the South African fruit-growers, who may lose £500.000 if the ban is applied this season. A permit was recently obtained from the Ministry of Food to export 20,000 tons of fresh and 18,000 tons of pulped fruit. The local markets cannot absorb the whole of the fruit crop, and growers fear a glut, which would cause a distrous depression of prices.