H.—3OA

Crop The following table gives the production of apples and pears according to provinces for each of the three years the purchase plan has been operating : —

District Production

Quality of Crops On the average, the quality of the fruit received this year was somewhat lower than in 1940 or 1941. Each season brings its own particular problems to fruitgrowers, and constant care must be exercised throughout the growing period to avert as far as possible the many dangers to which fruit crops are always open. Growers, in common with all other members of the community, are suffering the effects of the war in a greatly reduced labour pool, restricted supply of fertilizers, &c., and it is most difficult to give the orchards that amount of care which would normally be regarded as no more than necessary. A lessening in the normal programme of thinning, pruning, spraying, and similar sections of orchard practice must inevitably affect the season's working. Russet in the Nelson Province, combined with a large percentage of small sizes, was responsible for a considerable reduction in the marketable crop, and ripe spot later was the cause of much fruit becoming unsaleable both during the harvesting period and the storage period. It is apt at this stage to pay tribute to the officers of the Horticulture Division for their efforts and valuable assistance to the Division in the maintenance of quality. The policy of the Division is to market fruit in the best possible condition, and the function of these officers is a most important one towards this end. The following table shows the grading percentages during the past three years : —

Storage The amount of fruit which the Division can supply during the later months of the year is dependent mostly upon the amount of cool-storage space which can be allocated for fruit storage. The Division has been handicapped in this respect that, after prior claims have been met, the amount of space remaining is insufficient for fruit needs. The shortage of space has the effect of forcing fruit on to the mid-season markets, portion of which could have been held back for a later period, notwithstanding that the majority of mid-season harvestings are of varieties unsuitable for long storage. The usual practice in order to overcome in part this difficulty is to arrange with growers for the orchard holding of portion of their crops for short periods. The quantity thus held during 1942 was 198,000 cases. The summarized position is as follows : — Cases. Total crop .. .. .. •• •• •• 2,107,000 Quantity cool stored .. .. .. . ■ • • ■ • 735,000 1,372,000 Quantity orchard stored .. .. .. .. .. .. 198,000 Quantity available direct to markets up till end of June .. .. 1,174,000

6

Year. Auckland p^™ rty H^ e ' s Nelson. Ma P ua ' Motueka. C^ r " Tlmaru.j Otago. Total. Apples 1940 .. 278,61219,455 701,92031,234 71,935211,733 420,304 291,903102,671 7,039115,593 2,252,399 1941 .. 251,62322,992 *525,69133,240 78,917 294,877 473,102 353,420 96,961 11,179158,783 2,300,785 1942 .. 167,11040,076 770,923 34,473 70,557183,083 243,601207,072 91,614 5,688109,4981,923,095 Total .. 697,345 82,523 1,998,534 98,947 221,409 689,693 1,137,007 852,395 291,246 23,906 383,874 6,476,879 Pears 1940 .. 21,398 563 69,221 932 1,448 12,148 12,490 19,531 11,232 1,159 17,497 167,619 1941 .. 49,324 4,403 153,395 3,483 2,202 26,119 29,769 43,747 9,808 1,702 23,732 347,684 1942 .. 17,052 2,708 90,215 816 865 9,446 9,266 16,830 14,016 1,525 20,679 183,418 Total .. 87,774 7,674 312,831 5,231 4,515 47,713 51,525 80,108 35,056 4,386 61,908 698,721 ,, , Sales in Yeur - Cr °P" Jix P° rt " New Zealand. Oases. Cases. Cases. 1940 .. .. .. 2,420,018 587,504 1,932,514 1941 .. .. 2,648,469 4,181 2,644,288 1942 .. .. .. 2,107,113 .. 2,107,113

I 1940. 1941. j 1942. Apples— Extra Fancy .. .. .. 49-9 45-5 Fancy .. .. .. .. 32-6 31-2 74*5 Commercial .. .. •. 17-5 23-3 25-5 Pno t»q Fancy 71-4 74-6 81-8 Commercial .. .. .. 28-6 25-4 18-2