Slipshod Methods Prejudice Australian Market

Against P-NG Peanuts

[CERTAIN amount of confusion I has existed recently in the

I Territory of Papua and New

fnea over the export of peanuts Australia.

I had been stated in the Terri f that the Commonwealth had (osed a ban on P-NG peanuts;

[ although this was subsequently

id to be incorrect, it is a fact t the export of peanuts from G is not just a matter of put ! the bagged nuts on a ship at nearest port and consigning n to an agent in Australia, rstly, all importers of peanuts ustralia must be registered with Commonwealth Department of Ith under plant quarantine re gions as an “approved im- Br.” well-known firm of Islands its in Sydney has given us the wing procedure which is taken

hem when they wish to import

nsignment of peanuts from the

itory:

rhe grower In P-NG advises the im r that so many bags of peanuts are ible for export.

The importer, on a printed form, s “application for permit to import for purposes other than sowing” sends this application to the Com ealth Health Dept, in Canberra.

The importer then waits for per m to import—anything up to three Approval given, the importer in the grower or his agent in P-NG he peanuts are despatched.

On arrival in Sydney or other il city the peanuts are examined by lant quarantine authorities and then an “approved” storage and The agent now sets about selling If the prospective purchaser s to see the nuts, he is supposed to samples at the Quarantine Dept, purchaser may now decide to buy gs; but, as green nuts keep much than roasted nuts, he may require ve only five bags at a time roasted, rest are kept in the “approved t e - In the meantime, however, the ter must keep track of every bag in consignment he has imported and week send in a “roasting return” e Department. tVhen the nuts are roasted and go rd to the purchaser they are taken the bags in which they came from and put into new bags. It is then esponsibility of the importer to the original bags from the »ved storage and roaster” and take to be destroyed or heat-treated supervision. importer’s responsibilities are then end. The effect of all the Regu -5 having been, of course, that sn the time the nuts are landed stralia and when they are roasted, so rendered harmless as far as aitting diseases is concerned, they ! Pt in strict control.

C regulations are, of course, de signed to prevent the intro duction of plant diseases into

Australia—and so far as that object is concerned, meet the approval of all. But in execution they seem unnecessarily time-consuming and cumbersome.

Once the importer has been “ap proved” there seems to be no good reason why he cannot import pea nuts as and when he likes. What

erate consignment, however large or small, a matter for a sep- F ate P ermit Obtained from Can berra after the usual delays?

The obvious reason is that AS tralia will not import more than requirements to prevent depression in the local peanut industry but as shown later in this article, the local industry is in no danger from over-production at present The import regulations of course do not apply onlv to peanuts from P-NG. They apply equally to nea

s imported from Indonesia, na or anywhere else.

Juralia’S Requirements

pSTRALIA at present requires [anything up to 30,000 tons of [peanuts per annum. Produc- I within the Commonwealth wnts to about 10,000 tons per Im. le Queensland Peanut Board, ;h is responsible for peanuts rn at Kingaroy, in that State, is rded as the peanut authority ustralia. It is the QPB which ses the Commonwealth of the nated domestic production of tuts for any season and esti ;s what the requirements from ad will have to be in order to fy industry, the consumption uts in the shell being a very II percentage of the peanuts are used in the manufacture dible oils, margarine, etc. i these figures given by the , the Commonwealth issues im licences. Toward the end of year, peanuts were imported r licence from Indonesia; but ■ recently Indonesia has banned export of peanuts, holding that are required for home con )tion. the same way, licences to im peanuts from China (whether or Nationalist is not known) been granted, and some of ; —of excellent quality—have idy reached Australia, where brought from 2/- to 2/3 per d. In trade circles, however, doubted whether China will up large shipments of peanuts, great proportion of her crop is red at home. ie to high prices there has considerable interest in grow peanuts in parts of Australia • than Kingaroy. In the last years, peanut growing has at ed attention on the North t of NSW and growers have formed their own Association, was this Association which re y asked the QPB to join s with them in order to have yerseas imports of peanuts re ed. This the QPB refused to itating that although it was first duty to protect their srs, their second duty was to that secondary industry was supplied and this would not ssible if imports were restricted ‘esent. inuts grown in Fiji, said to be ixcellent quality, clean and id, have been offered to Syd importers, but they were not to take advantage of these of because of import restrictions i having had no peanut ex to Australia in the base year 51. js seems an extraordinary state fairs, in view of Fiji’s already ■se trade-balance with Aus i, and Australia’s willingness ike peanuts from China. It ibly could do with a little in nation at Government level.

New Guinea’S Peanut

Prospects

rERE has been an extraordinary interest in peanut growing for the Australian market during the last year in Papua-New Guinea.

But, like a number of other NG products, NG peanuts have a very bad name in Australia, due mostly to their small size and dirty ap pearance.

A well-known importer states that anything up to 10 per cent, of a bag of NG peanuts can consist of dirt, old stems and fibres. Some peanuts received in Sydney are broken or almost black in colour, due to unremoved dirt; in compari son with Kingaroy peanuts they are unattractive and consequently receive a lower price.

This difference in appearance is

partly due to the fact that the Kingaroy soil is red, and shows up less on the peanut shell; while NG nuts are grown in black volcanic soil that clings to the shells. But agents say that a great deal more could be done in the Territory by sound methods of cultivation and attention to harvesting, cleaning and bagging.

The figures quoted previously in

dicate that the Australian nr is wide open—if the NG gn can deliver the goods. Too in the past, when some agera pointed out defects in a NCI duct, the NG growers answea been: “Then send it to So-sb (another agent)—l’ve had not plaints from them.”

If a worthwhile peanut imj is to be developed in the Ter;i the time to lay firm foundatii now, when the demand is stil satisfied. Peanut-growing inr tralia is sure to expand— plantings are now being mas the Northern Territory as wv in Queensland and NSW—am time left for creating satisfleo! tomers for NG peanuts is no) limited.

It is certain that, with rm methods, as good peanuts c:c produced in P-NG as in Aust< it is also certain that preseir methods are prejudicing the nr against P-NG products.

In P-NG the peanut crop ; confined to any set season Kingaroy and NSW where harvest is usually from Apq July. It was found last yean whereas in the son, inferior NG nuts were brr up to l/10i per pound, later, , Kingaroy nuts were pleie agents were lucky to get l/ v .

NG nuts. In early Octoben were bringing about 1/6 and i next few months, as Kim stocks dwindle, it is expected) the price will rise again.

The demand for all vegetable is increasing; the demand foo peanuts could increase with it all depends on the NG proc From the point of view o;o small holder it is an excellent! maturing in about three mr from planting.

A considerable quantity off nuts come from the Gazelle e insula, near Rabaul, where thei grown by natives. Sydney 8 say that these are the best o NG nuts —the natives take th©i to clean them, FOOTNOTE: One disadvas NG growers suffer which Qu( land and NSW growers do m in the matter of freight. FA on peanuts from Rabaul to S;c is about £l5 per ton —far in » of ordinary rates. This is db the lightness of peanuts in i parison with their bulk—but iti not help what should be a pne ing industry.

Mr. K. H. Banks, of the s tralian Department of National velopment, is at present cars out a survey of existing induf in the main South Pacific tories on behalf of the I Pacific Commission. He has w New Caledonia, Fiji, Westerm Eastern Samoa recently. Fronc information gained the SPO c pects to be able to advise on <t lishment of new industries iff various territories.