Fresh Fruit Supplies in Great Britain for 1932

Abstract

FRESH fruit from the various parts of the British Empire formed a larger proportion of the total imports into Great Britain than ever before, according to the report issued by the Empire Marketing Board on ‘Fruit Supplies in 1932’ (H.M. Stationery Office, Is. net). Nearly 10,600,000 cwt. came from Empire sources, a record total, whilst new high levels were reached in a variety of individual fruits, among them being apples, bananas, oranges, peaches and plums. Certain others—principally those imported from foreign countries—as cherries, gooseberries, raw currants and strawberries, showed greatly decreased imports, the lowest, in fact, since the War. Home fruit showed a slight increase in production, especially dessert and cooking apples, but cider apples reached a new low level. Strawberries, of which the output was heaviest in 1931, were plentiful, although there was a general decline in soft fruits. The total amount of fruit, grown at home or brought from outside, was sufficient for approximately l lb. per head per week. Bananas, peaches and pineapples have grown in favour, but for the first time since the War there was a slight falling off in the imports of grape-fruit, although the principal sources of supply of the latter, namely South Africa, the British West Indies and Palestine, have each shown a remarkable expansion in the production of this fruit. A companion volume dealing with ‘Canned and Dried Fruit Supplies in 1932’ is also available at the same price.