Industry In The Cooks
p. 121 · Read in the full issue
Eveloping The Citrus
/|R. ROSS WALKER, manager of fJL Fruit Distributors, Ltd., the importing organisation of land fruit into New Zealand, has icently inspected Cook Islands antations and has estimated a •oduction level of 163,000 cases of trus fruit from the Cooks by igO—if there are no hurricanes or ight damage.
New Zealanders and Cook Island owers are interested in knowing hat plans are being made for le safe transport of this fruit the New Zealand market and bether the cool store now being lilt in Rarotonga will be capable storing it in sufficient quantity.
It might also be asked what ans the Government has towards e collection of the fruit in the iter Cook Islands and transport this cool store, where the NZ ssel will presumably do all its ading at the one port—Rarotonga.
Mr. Ross Walker said in a press atement that the people in the >ok Is. can be certain that New aland can take all their oranges, id that when the increased antities become available he has en assured by the Union Steam dp Co. that shipping will be ailable.
He said that as the orange ason in the Cook Islands follows e banana season in Fiji “it might possible to switch ships from e banana trade to the orange ide”.
Experience has shown, however, at even calls of large vessels anot save the entire crop—that a few thousand cases over the pacity are usually left to rot, and at another vessel will not gd rth to load until a full cargo is Hired. rhe only solution is for small eels to remain within the Cook oup to run the small consign nts, as they ripen, to a central )1 store in Rarotonga, where the dt may be held in safety for an lefinite period. rhe loss of a few thousand cases ,y not mean much to the New iland Government, the importers, the shipping companies, but it ans a great deal to the Cook anders, psychologically and ancially. ?he Cook Islands Agricultural partment has worked hard to :ourage the people to again build the industry after many past dis iragements over NZ shipments, foung Cook Islanders are adily leaving the islands to find re lucative employment in New iland —the only thing that will ;p them in the Group is the r elopment of the fruit industry.