Fiji Pineapples

Good Prospects for New Industry

r[E opinion that pineapple canning was destined to become the most im portant industry in Fiji was express ed to “New Zealand Herald” by Major C. Brewster, managing-director of the Fijian firm of Brown and Joske, Lim ited. From the progress already made he visualised an eventual output of about 500,000 cases a year, he said.

Fiji was prospering in spite of talk of world depression, Major Brewster add ed. Gold production was expanding.

There had been a satisfactory season for sugar. Crops had been good, and there was every prospect that they would be the same next year. The copra mar ket was depressed, but he was quite certain that it would rise again when ever reasonable prices returned for pri mary commodities generally.

Major Brewster, who is president of the Banana Association in Fiji, said that it had been understood that the introduction of the New Zealand Gov ernment’s marketing scheme for banana imports would reduce costs of distribu tion. Yet, in spite of the low prices paid to the shipper in Fiji, the housewife in New Zealand still had to pay high rateo for bananas. One result of the market ing scheme had been the formation of a co-operative organisation among ship pers in Fiji with a view to more effec tive bargaining and better control of shipments.