Bananas And Black

Piracy

Fijian Grower and NZ Consumer

'T'HE charge that, while the New Zea * land public paid from 55/- to 58/per case for Fiji bananas, the Fiji grower received only 4/- per case, and the middleman 10/4 per case, was made in the June issue of the “PIM.”

The statement was published in “The Dominion” (Wellington , NZ), on July isl and the following appeared in ‘“The Dominion” of July 14: — REFERENCE to an article concerning costs on Fiji bananas extracted from the “Pacific Islands Monthly” and published in yesterday’s “Dominion,” was made last evening by the Minister of Marketing, Mr. Barclay. He said that while to a degree some of the statements were correct, there were many import ant matters which had either wittingly or unwittingly been omitted by the “Pacific Islands Monthly.”

“Your article states that the price paid by this Government to Fiji is 10/4 a case, but the actual price is 10/5£ Fijian currency, which means 11/8J in New Zealand currency, thus bringing the cost at Auckland to more than the estimated 17/6,” said the Minister. “The Internal Marketing Division has no say at all in regard to the amount paid by shippers to. the growers for their fruit, which your authority states is 4/- a case.

“The selling price in Auckland (25/- a case) can only seem high by neglecting the fact that this Division sells bananas at the same price in the four main centres in New Zealand and that owing to war conditions and shortage of ship ping it is necessary to incur high charges

for railage and coastal freight, and at the present time all bananas sold in the South Island show a loss to the Division even if they all realise the full green price. After making allowance for wast age, damage and shrinkage in long rail and shipping journeys to the South Island, it is easy to see that selling under cost is unavoidable. The average margin over costs on all bananas handled by this Division last year was slightly over 1/a case.

“The correspondent bases his sugges tion of high retail prices on the case of Fiji bananas containing 90-100 lb. of fruit, whereas the last check weighing made in Auckland revealed the fact that the gross weight of Fiji bananas on arri val was 97 lb. a case. From this must be deducted 14 lb. for the weight of the case, leaving 83 lb. of green fruit at the most. It is very seldom that the retailer receives 83 lb. of good fruit, as there is often a certain amount of damaged and unsalable fruit and of late the Fiji bananas have contained a good percent age of waste fruit. As it is necessary to ripen the bananas before being sold retail, this incurs further losses not only in unsalable fruit but also shrink age in weight, and it is doubtful if a retailer receives much more than 70 lb. of ripe salable fruit out of a case—quite a difference from the 90-100 lb. men tioned by the ‘Pacific Islands Monthly.’

“It is also stated that the Fiji bana nas are repacked into smaller cases in New Zealand, but this is contrary to fact, as less than 5 per cent, of the importation are ripened on behalf of the Division and even when bananas are ripened standing instructions are given to agents to repack the fruit into the original-sized cases.”

EDITORIAL NOTE; The foregoing may interest Fiji growers: but it will neither comfort nor reassure them. We do not know where or how to allot the

blame: but we are inclined to believe, with the Fiji growers, that there is black piracy somewhere between the 4/- Fijian received by the grower, and the 56/- NZ (equal to about 49/- Fijian) paid by the consumer. The “racket” that is worked against primary producers the world over is epitomised in that 45/- Fijian per case, which dis appears somewhere between the miser ably underpaid Fijian banana-grower, and the grossly over-charged NZ banana eater. The NZ Minister merely tries to soothe. He certainly does not explain what becomes of that 45/- Fijian.

The “Fiji Times,” in recent articles, has shown that if the Fiji export indus try in bananas is to be preserved—and it certainly should be—some greater help must be given to the growers. The lat ter are suffering under new and severe handicaps—especially the higher costs of transport within Fiji, the growing scar city and higher costs of labour, and the difficulty of obtaining banana cases.

Even under old conditions, 4/- per case was a poor return: under the new war time conditions, the price is impossible.

Fiji seems to be, at present, New Zea land’s only large source of banana-sup ply: and it is a shocking commentary upon bureaucratic inefficiency that, while NZ is prepared to pay so much for bananas, the Fiji banana-grower is being allowed to die of price starvation. This is the sort of thing that makes Bolshe viks out of sober and decent citizens.

Mr. V. H. Almao, transport officer at Rarotonga, resigned and left for New Zealand in June with his family.

Mr. B. Russell arrived in Rarotonga re cently as local manager for the Union Steamship Co. accompanied by Mrs.

Russell. He was previously purser on several Union Co. steamers.