Growers Complain
p. 35 · Read in the full issue
New Banana Contract for Samoa
From Our Own Correspondent APIA, January 5.
THE Government Secretary, Mr.
Turnbull, has closed a new ban ana contract on behalf of the Adminis tration with N.Z. fruit importers on what are regarded as unfavourable terms.
The contract is only for 4½ months, and the price, which is not published, is much below the former contract price. The price to be paid to growers will be 3/6 per case, less freight to Apia, which, up to the amount of 9d. per case, has to be borne by the pro ducers for all bananas, whether ac cepted for shipment or not.
A few years ago the Administration urged European, as well as native grow ers to plant bananas to their utmost capability. It was stated at the time that the Administration would be able to take up to 30,000 cases a month for export to New Zealand. As a conse quence of this campaign, and especially when the copra price began to drop, a large number of Europeans and natives turned to bananas and planted large areas, trusting that the Administration would ensure a market for the fruit— especially after an Ordinance was en acted, securing to the Administration an exclusive monopoly in the hand ling and export of bananas.
At the present time the limit given by the Administration—-30,000 cases per month—is already produced and avail able. But, to the sore disappointment of the growers, the shipments are wholly inadequate to cope with the production. The Maui Pomare, leaving on December 31, takes about 7,200 cases, when over 20,000 cases were ap plied for.
The situation is bad enough for the large European and the native produc ers, but some Samoan districts of the South and East coast of Upolu, and of Savaii, have been cut out of shipments altogether. It is altogether ruinous for the small European growers, who de pend on bananas for a living and for payment of Government taxes, and who have in some cases invested their last savings in small banana planta tions.
The Inspector of Produce is severely criticised for his method of dealing with applications for banana boxes.
While some of the large European and Chinese growers are given all the boxes they want, the small man, in many instances is given no share whatever.
It surely should be possible to give out shipping space on a fair percentage basis and avoid unnecessary hardship to the small planters who depend on ban anana shipping for a living.
Great dissatisfaction was expressed by banana growers that no shipments were despatched to New Zealand to ar rive before Christmas, when probablv good prices would have been obtained.
Samoan as well as European growers had hoped to ship some bananas before Christmas, and obtain some cash for seasonal purchases, EDITORIAL NOTE. —Growers cannot very well blame the Administration, which is obvi ously doing its best in very difficult circum stances. We have repeatedly pointed out that the shipment of bananas from Samoa to the N.Z. market is obviously a gamble, because
much fruit is already going down from Cook Islands and Fiji, and now Tonga has entered the banana market. The main cause of the trouble described, however, appears to be an insufficiency of freights, and if Western Sa moan producers are being thus handicapped, the New Zealand Government must take the blame. If New Zealand cannot provide ade quate shipping. New Zealand has no right to undertake the administration of important
Islands territories. No Islands shipping ser vices are profitable to-day. Therefore, how can the N.Z. Government, running its own steamer in these difficult times, in competi tion with private enterprise, expect to secure the goodwill of the Union Company? Without the goodwill and co-operation of that com pany, the Dominion must make a poor show ing in its relations with the important islands territories in which it is interested.