Poverty-Stricken Fruit-Growers Of

Cook Islands

Analysis of Causes and Conditions

Written for “Pacific Islands Monthly” by Captain A. J. Carfax-Foster

THE Editor of the Pacific Islands Monthly has asked me to give my views about the failure of the Cook Islands fruit industry. It is with dif fidence that I am attempting to do so.

It would be so easy to write a vitriolic article of condemnation of the persons whom I, with most other planters, con sider responsible.

In my seven or eight years in the Group, I successively had experience of the Islands as a planter, as a trader in two of the Outer Islands and, later, I watched affairs casually from the Govern ment side, while I was employed tem porarily in the Public Works Depart ment. So I think I may claim to have seen the fruit trade from every angle.

In my planter days, although I even tually failed to make both ends meet, I can honestly avow that I did make a real effort to disprove the oft-stated theory that fruit-growing in the Cook Islands cannot be made profitable. I pos sessed an exceptionally complete plant and introduced a number of labour-saving devices and I do claim that if fruit growing could have been made profitable, then I was perfectly equipped to do so.

My innovations, my use of a tractor, cultivation and manuring of coconut trees, mechanical orange-grader, etc., were, I remember, rather scoffed at. Yet I am convinced that I worked on the right lines.

I mention this so that I may not be accused of writing without having studied deeply the problems of the Cook Is. planter.

WHY did I fail? Why is it that every fruit-grower fails? Why is the Cook Group bankrupt to-day? Destructive criticism is very easy; and I shall en deavour to include some constructive ideas as I go along.

It is difficult to confine any article strictly to the fruit trade —there are so many subjects for criticism in the Group —roads, laws, prohibition, rats, mos quitoes, copra, education, mixed mar riages, noxious weeds, venereal disease, cohabitation, etc. Perhaps the new Government in New Zealand will make a difference. Hitherto, criticism has been useless, which perhaps explains why the fertile Cook Islands remain a charge upon the N.Z, ratepayer to the tune of some £30,000 a year.

The fruit industry is a failure—and it shows no likelihood of being improved; and these, in my opinion, are the main causes:

The Shipping Service

T'HE U.S.S. Co. has a monopoly of the A trade. Its freights are too high, its service is poor and the carriage and treatment of fruit in un-insulated holds is undesirable. Its continued imposition

of extra charges to pay for lighters, which were smashed in a hurricane years ago, has long irritated the Rarotongan growers. Its policy of allowing shipping space to be virtually controlled by traders, and its readiness to consider the fruit buyers in N.Z., which puts the Outer Islands orange crop directly under the thumb of Auckland buyers, provide a grave weakness.

I know all the Union Co.’s answers to the above. Let me refer the Co. to the year 1933, when no labour troubles of any kind were experienced in Mauke (that being the year when for one season, at least, the natives were given a fair deal). To anyone interested, I will amplify that statement.

The Union Co. should bring down freight charges, provide an insulated hold, and carry the shocks from N.Z. at con siderably less cost, as its contribution to the solution of the Cook Group problem.

It is probably presumptuous of me to advise such a great concern. Never theless, I do know, from my experience of fruit trading in the Eastern Mediter ranean, that such measures would result in ultimate profit. Is the Union Co. likely to listen to a Government more readily?

In regard to shocks, let me say that the difference between 180,000 (say) cases imported into Rarotonga yearly at about 1/9, and valued for re-export at 2/6, very often has allowed the Cook

Islands’ yearly report to show a balance in favour of exports over imports—a bol stering of trade figures that is quite unjustifiable.

A Fruit Ring?

THE existence of a fruit ring is always denied. Nevertheless, having been employed by it, I state unequivocally that a strong and ruthless fruit ring does con trol, not only the Cook Islands, but a great number of growers around Auck land. At the moment, it is certain that three Auckland firms virtually have a stranglehold upon the fruit trade and are powerful enough to dictate policy, not only to the Union Co., but to Government Departments.

Until the N.Z. Government takes a hand, and prevents any firm acting as a commission agent whilst it is at the same time buying fruit on its own account, no grower can hope to put fruit upon the N.Z. market at a price which does not suit the fruit ring.

That is the crux of the matter; and, failing Government action, the only solu tion seems to be to interest outside capital in order to establish a complete marketing system in Rarotonga and N.Z., so that growers may increase production and use all the present waste acres to grow fruit. The smaller cost of shipping and marketing, coupled with education of the N.Z. public to fruit-eating, would almost overnight result in profit to the public in the form of cheap fruit and in providing a comfortable living for the growers.

Let me assure the Auckland merchants that I know all their answers to the above. I am not indulging in vain dreams. The cry of the fruit ring, for years, has been that there is no profit in Islands fruit.

I believe in hard facts talking for them selves. If their contention be true, why do they employ highly paid agents to deal in the fruit? Philanthropy? Hardly!

To their outcries about poor native pack ing and dishonest natives, I reply that if they are to be allowed to continue buying Island fruit, they themselves should supervise the packing of the fruit, instead of being content to buy Union Co.’s carters’ notes. Then they will be entitled to grumble at poor fruit received in N.Z.

The supervision of packing they have never done —in spite of good opportuni ties under the old regulations, when they were supposed to construct and operate their own packing sheds. In defiance of the Government, they failed to do this, and to-day they are in the position of

having Government officials to inspect the fruit, at the expense of the growers.

This state of affairs is a disgrace. No buyer of fruit should be allowed to use fruit, bought by him, to manipulate the price of fruit which is consigned to him as a commission agent. Nor should he be allowed to use the Government as a policeman for his interests.

To cite actual facts: I once watched a case of bananas go through a sale in Wellington—noted its number, noted the retailer who bought it, and discovered afterwards that the grower actually was paid 4/- less than his case realised. I tried at the time to get action taken, but with no result.

The Rarotongan growers, nowadays, are all so far beneath the thumb of trading firms that it is virtually impossible to get any collective action from them. The natives are a fine race of people: yet one cannot blame them overmuch if they, under the stress of poverty, do a little sharp work to beat the fruit regulations.

The Maori appreciates a square deal, and, if it is given to him, and a profit can be made from his fruit, will not resort to sharp practices.

In the Editor’s office lies testimony that this can be done, in the shape of a cer tificated auditor’s report, covering six months’ trading, showing a handsome profit, coupled with a petition from the natives to keep that particular trader there. That is very conclusive proof that a fair deal is readily appreciated by the Maoris.

Decontrol of the fruit industry by the Auckland ring could be broken. Any capitalist of vision could do it, with good results to everyone. Where is the man who is courageous enough to dare Government disapproval, dare competi tion by Auckland, dare the apathy of discouraged growers, and start a com bined co-operative plan for packing,

shipping and complete marketing? It seems that such a man or company is the only solution to the problem.

Small schemes have all failed. Years ago, the late W. G. Taylor started ship ping direct to retailers. In six months, he was blocked. The retailers who took his Rarotongan fruit had had their sup plies of local fruits withheld from them by the ring.

Government’S Attitude

ALL these comments inevitably lead an observer to ask why the Government has done nothing to prevent such abuses.

Without indulging in personalities, the Government apathy is hard to explain.

However, let me say that a resident of the Cook Group, who fails to keep his mouth or pen quiet, is speedily discredited and is made unpleasantly aware, in many ways, that the Government of N.Z., through the local Administration, does not welcome any public airing of com plaints. Many more reputable persons than I have been squelched. Some have blamed the Resident Commissioner (I have, often, myself) or his associates; others have gone (as I have to-day) to the real root of the matter —which is this: The N.Z. Government has incurred such worldwide publicity over Samoa that all its efforts have been turned upon keeping the Cook Group out of the news, by fair means or foul. Politics alone, in a pro fessionally governed country, have kept Rarotongan affairs in the background.

And, as the Islands carry no votes, no defender has arisen in Parliament to demand the righting of wrongs, which are as serious as any suffered by Samoa.

This condition has been made possible only by very clever and astute tactics— the frightening of any agitator, the shielding of influential visitors from con tact with dissatisfaction, the wilful pan dering to trading interests who do com mand votes —all this being helped by the peaceful instinct of the natives, who would, if they possessed the backbone of the Samoans, long ago have rebelled. In their hearts, the Maoris to-day are re sentful of their treatment, and only clever administration prevents an outbreak.

A Plea For The Maoris

7 1 ’’HIS, at the best, is a very brief sum mary of my reading of the present situation. The subject could be detailed and specific cases cited. I have tried to deal as broadly as possible with it, with out indulging in personalities, in order that possibly some remedy may be found and applied; even though I am very sceptical of the result—which probably will be either utter silence, or an avalanche of letters telling the Editor that I am a very ineffectual O. F. Nelson!

That, generally, is how affairs are con ducted in the Cook Group.

Let this be my excuse. In the Cook Islands to-day are several thousands of Maoris who are entitled to a reasonable living and who are encouraged to a higher standard of living by the Govern ment and trading interests. Those Maoris find themselves to-day poverty-stricken in a land of plenty, educated out of their natural ways of life by years of living on tinned foods, and, after the recent hurricane, in some cases suffering actual hardship. Wards of a so-styled beneficent Government, they do need help—in spite of any impression gained by casual visitors to the Islands, who are deluded by their easy carefree existence.

Commander W. Burrows, a district Commissioner of Fiji, returned to Suva by the Roturoa in November after leave in England.