Cook Is. Fruit

Clashing Interests Argue, While M.P.'s Go Off on “Sunshine Cruise"

By R. W. Robson

Auckland, June 11.

nPHERE has been political fuss and fury -*■ here lately concerning the marketing of Cook Islands fruit—mainly oranges. It has culminated in a series of petitions from the Cook Islands interests to the New Zealand Government, charging trad ers and agents with so rigging the New Zealand market that the growers have got practically nothing, while the “fruit ring” has reaped huge profits.

Another series of petitions repudiated the charges.

The old conservative Government ig nored the agitation; but it was seized on eagerly by this new Socialist Administra tion, which is clearly anxious to get any evidence it can of the operations of rings and combines. So there has been an in quiry by a Parliamentary Committee in Wellington, whereat evidence has been given by a numerous party from Raro tonga (some for and some against a “Fruit Control Board”) and by New Zea land fruit agents, who appeared in their own defence.

The result of the inquiry seems to have been a stalemate. It is announced to-day that three members of Parliament— Messrs. J. Robertson, C. L. Hunter, and S. G. Holland—will sail for Rarotonga on July 7 to inquire personally into the whole situation. Perhaps the inquiry—which extended over several days—did not give the data needed. Personally, from all I can learn, I am of opinion that the Gov ernment already has decided that it will appoint some sort of “Fruit Control Board”; but that three deserving mem bers feel that the opportunity for a “sun shine cruise” is too good to miss.

The belief is widely held among th* fruit agents—and, I think, with good reason—that all this “Fruit Control Board” agitation has much of its inspira tion in the desire of certain officials to give the Cook Islands Department some thing to do. At present, the Department is an anachronism. Western Samoa is run by the External Affairs Department, and there is no reason why the Cook Islands should not be similarly controlled.

But if the C.I. Department can get con trol of the fruit export business of the Cook Islands, it may be able to justify its continued existence.

It must not be forgotten, however, that the Cook Islands Department with the co-operation of traders now successfully organises and markets the whole of the fruit output of Niue, another of New Zea land’s Pacific dependencies. It has been pointed out that perhaps the same thing would be possible in the Cook Islands.

All the information I have been able to gather—and I have been chatting with many people during the currency of this inquiry—suggests that the trouble is not caused by the rapacity of a fruit ring, but by a tragic lack of proper transport facilities, and by absence of organisation at the ports of shipment.

New Zealand is hungry for tropical fruit —there is pathetically little on sale anywhere. One of the most experienced fruit salesmen here said to me; “If we could only get regular and reliable sup plies, we could sell five times as many oranges in New Zealand.”

On the same ship that brought the Rarotongan fruit inspector, and several Rarotongans, to advocate a “Fruit Con trol Board,” there arrived some thousands of cases of Cook Islands oranges; and it is a literal fact that half of these were rotten and had to be thrown away. The loss was at least £2,500. Nothing could have been more timely to support the argument of the fruit traders and agents, that the cause of the miserable returns to C.I. growers is the bad condition in which the fruit so often arrives. They say that the fruit often is cut far too long before the arrival of the steamer, which is the fault of the officials and growers; and it is not carried in cold storage. The particular shipment referred to presum ably was organised under the supervision of the fruit inspector, and certainly was transported under his supervision; yet it was 50 per cent, bad on arrival.

The agents here are bitter at what they consider was a trick played them by the Government.' They gave their evidence freely, and were cross-examined by obvi ously hostile Parliamentarians; but the latter so arranged the inquiry that the agents did not have a chance to cross examine the officials, who gave evidence unfavourable to the agents. The latter declare that, if they had been allowed to ask questions of certain officials, they would have exposed a very interesting situation.

The agents do not want to see the trade “messed about by a Fruit Control Board” which, no doubt, it would be under the control of the Socialist Govern ment. They would prefer to see what ever control is deemed necessary exer cised by Judge Ayson, the Resident Com missioner, who is an eminently fair minded man, with a sound knowledge of the local position; and they urge that whatever energy the Government has should be devoted to the provision of better transport. Regular transport, with cold storage, would give New Zealand a large supply of good oranges, and return substantial profits to the growers. The present position is of no use to anyone —growers, agents, or consumers. (Further reference to the C.I. fruit industry will be found in an article by our Cook Islands corre spondent on Page 29.)