Post by NZBC on Sept 7, 2014 14:43:30 GMT 12
FRUIT IN CHRISTCHUROH
INTERVIEWS WITH IMPORTERS.
SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION.
(BY 01T& BEPOBXEK.) Is fruit', dear, in CJhristchurch? More especially, is it dearer here than in the other chief centres of the colony? This is a'question to whkh a representative of ''The Press" has, obtained a series of interesting answers-
Mr T. Brown, importer and auctioneer, Stated that he did not -link fruit was more expensive here than at ether places, except "Wellington, where the difference of price was confined almost entirely to bananas. These were cheaper at the northern town, because it was a nearer port, and .they were "landed there in bunches. The trade; also, was in. the hands of Chinese, who are proverbially able to live "on the smell of am oilrag." To bring t-,e bananas on to Chrisrtchuroh they nad to be packed in cases, there was much more handling, and there was 6_d a case more railage. When they arrived at Lyttelton they were dumped down in any style, and there was considerable loss "through bad handling. Bananas in the Empire City were four times as plentidful os here, and formed part of the woateng man's daily food. The low prices at which they were sold, he thought, deluded visitors into concluding that all fruit in Wellington was similarly cheap. VARIOUS There are several fruits, such as pomegranates, —tangoes, and othere, which appear quite unobtaihahle in The reason of this, Mr Brown explained, is that they axe never ordered. There were some fruits which were quite unknow_ here, but people seemed to have no desire to cultivate a taste for them. The Cape gooseberry, a delicious fruit, had been tried m Christchurch, but people did not know it, and there was no demand.
The drought in Australia, it would seem, has greatly affected' Sydney supplies, which are yery dear this season, and unusually poor and perishable. From Sydney come the bulk of our oranges, as well as mandarins, lemons, passions, sevilles, and a few pines. ISLAND FRUIT. Mr Macfarlane, of the firm of Messrs Laery and Macfarlane, stated that Che system of examining the island fruit her© was bad, and he had often thought ot writing to the Government, pointing out the desirability of its being inspected at Rarotonga, before being shipped. The same change of system was equally wanted at Fiji. This year he had received 120 cases of fruit from Fiji, costing 10s a case, which he had been obliged to have sent to the gasworks and. destroyed, because of the fruit ily. There was no doubt, Mr Macfarlane said, that inspectors should be appointed at Fiji, Tonga, and the Cook Islands. This would safeguard the colony and save the people at the other end from paying freight and losing the lot. Mr Macfarlane said that he did not think fruit in Christchurch was really yery much dearer than in Auckland and Wellington; except with .regard to bananas. He had found that when prices were very low people did not seem to want many of them. WHY FRUIT IS DEAR. The drought in Australia had made Sydney fruit Very dear and very poor in quality this year, and more oranges came here from Sydney than from all the islands together. This season they were very perishable, and this made them dearer still.
The island oranges were most plentiful here in the winter months, when people did not care for fruit. By the time summer came rornd the Cook Islands crop was over, and it became" necessary to import from Italy, which was very expensive. The Tongans shipped, up to the end of November, and did%ery w^elL Apples, pe-ts£ and other local fruit were, '_»'__*'Maofarlane's opinion, generally very cheap here. He did r.ot think the retailers made much profit. They had to sell cheaply when there was a big supply, as it does not pay to let the fruit rot on them. A large amount of locally-grown fruit was exported to Wellington, Auckland, Napier, and other towns, and the prices received for it showed that it must be. considerably dearer in those places than here. Mr Macfarlane did not think that there was much demand for fruit in Christchurch at most times. He had seen very good oranges selling here for sa, and there was no rush for them. WHAT THE RETAILERS SAY. Mr Mansfield, a prominent retail fruiterer in the city, stated that he had had Sydney oranges lately, half of which were bad, and they cost 14s lid a case, including freight, eto. Fruit was extoemely-perisbafoie, and aa rents and rates in the city were both high, he did not think prices could be cut down lower than they were. There 'were a very large number of retailers, also, and they ran it up ptetty high at the auction rooms. Things'might be better if the fruit could 1 be brought out direct from Sydney to the fruiterers. After all, however, fruit did not seem to Bell much better even when dt was cheap. If things looked cheap, people had an odea.that they could cot be good. IRRESPONSIBLE ISLANDERS.
Mr A. Knox,- of Sydenham, the secretary of the Fruiterers' Association, formed about twelve months ago to reduce prices, thought that imported fruit was very dear here, and that the retailer had little chance of doing good business while it remained so. His experience was that when fruit was expensive people did without it. The oranges which arrived here from the Islands were often badly sorted, and many of them were windfalls, which perished almost immediately. The islanders were most irresponsible persons. They would send down two shiploads of stuff, one so close after the other, that it would be impossible to stop the second, and at once glut the market, so that prices fell to nothing, or they could not get rid of the fruit. In disgust they would send a very small load the next time Of good, carefully picked fruit perhaps, with the result that there would be an eager demand. As a consequence down would come two more ship-loads of badly sorted stuff, half of it windfalls, which would not last any time, and there would be the former disappointment. This condemnation of native methods is interesting in relation to the recent complaint of the Resident Commissioner at the Cook Island, that "after the experience of the Port of Auckland, none need be astonished that the natives are anxious to find another outlet for their fruit," and the even then surprising statement that the producers have not received more than £1 per ton profit on the oranges exported. HOW FRUIT IS SPOILED.
Mr Knox was at a loss to understand why the Government should put _d a lb duty on lemons, which could not be grown here, and 2d alb in the same manner on dates. The bananas which come here, he stated, are most carelessly handled. This fruit ia ruined if subjected to a temperature of less than 45deg., yet cases were repeatedly left exposed to a greater degree of cold at the railway station, and in winter he had seen whole shipments spoiled in that way. The manner in which the islanders pack their fruit. Mr Knox referred to as abominable. He was opposed to the principle of auctioning the fruit to retailers, and had not met with it anywhere except in New Zealand.
Finally,,he thought that a proper fruit boat should be put on from the Islands, and that it should bring the stuff on to all the ports, instead of leaving it all at Auckland and Wellington. It was no good •ending windfalls to New Zealand, and he certainly thought that the freight charged by the Union Company was very excessive. Mr Knox was confident that the business of a fruiterer was not by any means one to crave after.
Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11377, 13 September 1902, Page 3 paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=CHP19020913.2.5&cl=search&srpos=57&e=-------100-CHP-1----0chinese+fruiterer--&st=1
INTERVIEWS WITH IMPORTERS.
SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION.
(BY 01T& BEPOBXEK.) Is fruit', dear, in CJhristchurch? More especially, is it dearer here than in the other chief centres of the colony? This is a'question to whkh a representative of ''The Press" has, obtained a series of interesting answers-
Mr T. Brown, importer and auctioneer, Stated that he did not -link fruit was more expensive here than at ether places, except "Wellington, where the difference of price was confined almost entirely to bananas. These were cheaper at the northern town, because it was a nearer port, and .they were "landed there in bunches. The trade; also, was in. the hands of Chinese, who are proverbially able to live "on the smell of am oilrag." To bring t-,e bananas on to Chrisrtchuroh they nad to be packed in cases, there was much more handling, and there was 6_d a case more railage. When they arrived at Lyttelton they were dumped down in any style, and there was considerable loss "through bad handling. Bananas in the Empire City were four times as plentidful os here, and formed part of the woateng man's daily food. The low prices at which they were sold, he thought, deluded visitors into concluding that all fruit in Wellington was similarly cheap. VARIOUS There are several fruits, such as pomegranates, —tangoes, and othere, which appear quite unobtaihahle in The reason of this, Mr Brown explained, is that they axe never ordered. There were some fruits which were quite unknow_ here, but people seemed to have no desire to cultivate a taste for them. The Cape gooseberry, a delicious fruit, had been tried m Christchurch, but people did not know it, and there was no demand.
The drought in Australia, it would seem, has greatly affected' Sydney supplies, which are yery dear this season, and unusually poor and perishable. From Sydney come the bulk of our oranges, as well as mandarins, lemons, passions, sevilles, and a few pines. ISLAND FRUIT. Mr Macfarlane, of the firm of Messrs Laery and Macfarlane, stated that Che system of examining the island fruit her© was bad, and he had often thought ot writing to the Government, pointing out the desirability of its being inspected at Rarotonga, before being shipped. The same change of system was equally wanted at Fiji. This year he had received 120 cases of fruit from Fiji, costing 10s a case, which he had been obliged to have sent to the gasworks and. destroyed, because of the fruit ily. There was no doubt, Mr Macfarlane said, that inspectors should be appointed at Fiji, Tonga, and the Cook Islands. This would safeguard the colony and save the people at the other end from paying freight and losing the lot. Mr Macfarlane said that he did not think fruit in Christchurch was really yery much dearer than in Auckland and Wellington; except with .regard to bananas. He had found that when prices were very low people did not seem to want many of them. WHY FRUIT IS DEAR. The drought in Australia had made Sydney fruit Very dear and very poor in quality this year, and more oranges came here from Sydney than from all the islands together. This season they were very perishable, and this made them dearer still.
The island oranges were most plentiful here in the winter months, when people did not care for fruit. By the time summer came rornd the Cook Islands crop was over, and it became" necessary to import from Italy, which was very expensive. The Tongans shipped, up to the end of November, and did%ery w^elL Apples, pe-ts£ and other local fruit were, '_»'__*'Maofarlane's opinion, generally very cheap here. He did r.ot think the retailers made much profit. They had to sell cheaply when there was a big supply, as it does not pay to let the fruit rot on them. A large amount of locally-grown fruit was exported to Wellington, Auckland, Napier, and other towns, and the prices received for it showed that it must be. considerably dearer in those places than here. Mr Macfarlane did not think that there was much demand for fruit in Christchurch at most times. He had seen very good oranges selling here for sa, and there was no rush for them. WHAT THE RETAILERS SAY. Mr Mansfield, a prominent retail fruiterer in the city, stated that he had had Sydney oranges lately, half of which were bad, and they cost 14s lid a case, including freight, eto. Fruit was extoemely-perisbafoie, and aa rents and rates in the city were both high, he did not think prices could be cut down lower than they were. There 'were a very large number of retailers, also, and they ran it up ptetty high at the auction rooms. Things'might be better if the fruit could 1 be brought out direct from Sydney to the fruiterers. After all, however, fruit did not seem to Bell much better even when dt was cheap. If things looked cheap, people had an odea.that they could cot be good. IRRESPONSIBLE ISLANDERS.
Mr A. Knox,- of Sydenham, the secretary of the Fruiterers' Association, formed about twelve months ago to reduce prices, thought that imported fruit was very dear here, and that the retailer had little chance of doing good business while it remained so. His experience was that when fruit was expensive people did without it. The oranges which arrived here from the Islands were often badly sorted, and many of them were windfalls, which perished almost immediately. The islanders were most irresponsible persons. They would send down two shiploads of stuff, one so close after the other, that it would be impossible to stop the second, and at once glut the market, so that prices fell to nothing, or they could not get rid of the fruit. In disgust they would send a very small load the next time Of good, carefully picked fruit perhaps, with the result that there would be an eager demand. As a consequence down would come two more ship-loads of badly sorted stuff, half of it windfalls, which would not last any time, and there would be the former disappointment. This condemnation of native methods is interesting in relation to the recent complaint of the Resident Commissioner at the Cook Island, that "after the experience of the Port of Auckland, none need be astonished that the natives are anxious to find another outlet for their fruit," and the even then surprising statement that the producers have not received more than £1 per ton profit on the oranges exported. HOW FRUIT IS SPOILED.
Mr Knox was at a loss to understand why the Government should put _d a lb duty on lemons, which could not be grown here, and 2d alb in the same manner on dates. The bananas which come here, he stated, are most carelessly handled. This fruit ia ruined if subjected to a temperature of less than 45deg., yet cases were repeatedly left exposed to a greater degree of cold at the railway station, and in winter he had seen whole shipments spoiled in that way. The manner in which the islanders pack their fruit. Mr Knox referred to as abominable. He was opposed to the principle of auctioning the fruit to retailers, and had not met with it anywhere except in New Zealand.
Finally,,he thought that a proper fruit boat should be put on from the Islands, and that it should bring the stuff on to all the ports, instead of leaving it all at Auckland and Wellington. It was no good •ending windfalls to New Zealand, and he certainly thought that the freight charged by the Union Company was very excessive. Mr Knox was confident that the business of a fruiterer was not by any means one to crave after.
Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11377, 13 September 1902, Page 3 paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=CHP19020913.2.5&cl=search&srpos=57&e=-------100-CHP-1----0chinese+fruiterer--&st=1