WITH THE CITRUS SHIPPING SEASON OFFICIALLY OPENING NOV. 20, PALESTINE’S MAJOR INDUSTRY, STILL SUFFERING FROM THE EFFECTS OF THE MOST DISASTROUS YEAR IN ITS HISTORY, 1936-1937, LOOKS TO THE FUTURE A LITTLE MORE HOPEFULLY, THOUGH ITS CHIEF PROBLEMS REMAIN UNSOLVED.
FIRST OF THESE IS THE FINANCIAL PREDICAMENT OF MANY GROWERS. ISAAC ROKACH, PRESIDENT OF THE JAFFA CITRUS EXCHANGE, ESTIMATES THAT AT LEAST ONE-THIRD OF THE 5,000 TO 6,000 JEWISH CITRUS GROWERS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO MEET THE INTEREST ON THEIR DEBTS FOR ONE OR TWO YEARS.
THE SECOND GREAT DIFFICULTY IS THE CONTINUED DISORGANIZATION OF THE EXPORT TRADE, WITH NON-COOPERATION EXISTING NOT ONLY BETWEEN JEWS AND ARABS, BUT AMONG THE JEWISH COOPERATIVES. THIS SITUATION DEPRESSES THE PRICE ABROAD, AND THEREFORE INCREASES THE GROWERS’ TROUBLES.
THE CROP ITSELF THIS YEAR IS A GOOD ONE, ABOUT EQUAL IN SIZE TO LAST YEAR’S — 9 MILLION CASES OF ORANGES AND 1½MILLION CASES OF GRAPEFRUIT FOR EXPORT — AND FAR SUPERIOR IN QUALITY. THERE WILL BE NONE OF THE UNSOUND FRUIT, PRODUCT OF UNSEASONABLE RAINS, WHICH ROTTED IN TRANSIT LAST YEAR.
INFORMATION REACHING THE TRADE HERE SAID THERE MAY BE A SHORTAGE OF SPANISH ORANGES, BECAUSE OF DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE VALENCIA GOVERNMENT, AS A RESULT OF THE WAR, IN OBTAINING SHIPS TO TRANSPORT ITS CROP.
CO-OPERATIVES CONTROLLING THE BULK OF THE JEWISH CITRUS EXPORTS MAY REACH A SHIPPING AND MARKETING AGREEMENT, PARTLY ELIMINATING THE COMPETITION WHICH IN THE PAST HAS CAUSED FOREIGN MARKETS TO BE FLOODED WITH JAFFA ORANGES FROM TIME TO TIME AT “DUMPING” PRICES. IF THE JEWISH EXPORTERS CAN AGREE, THEY CAN DO MUCH TO ALLEVIATE THIS CONDITION, SINCE JEWS CONTROL 55 PER CENT OR MORE OF THE ORANGE EXPORT. NEGOTIATIONS FOR SUCH AN AGREEMENT ARE ALREADY FAR ADVANCED, MR. ROKACH TOLD THE J.T.A. AMONG THE PLANS UNDER CONSIDERATION, HE SAID, IS ONE MODELED ON THE LINES OF THE CALIFORNIA CITRUS EXCHANGE.
AN AGREEMENT HAS ALREADY BEEN REACHED ON GRAPEFRUIT SHIPPING WHEREBY EACH EXPORTER HAS BEEN ALLOTTED A MAXIMUM QUOTA FOR THE SEASON, SUBDIVIDED INTO MONTHLY QUOTAS. THE EXPORTERS MUST ALSO DIVIDE THEIR SHIPMENTS IN SET PROPORTIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE CONTINENT, AND ARE FURTHER LIMITED AS TO THE AMOUNTS THEY MAY SEND TO EACH PORT ABROAD.
UNDER THE AGREEMENT, IT IS EXPECTED THAT 20 PER CENT OF THIS YEAR’S EXPORTABLE GRAPEFRUIT CROP WILL BE HELD BACK. ONE OR TWO EXPORTERS HAVE NOT YET SIGNED, BUT THE PLAN IS OPERATING, NEVERTHELESS, WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT THEY WILL COME INTO THE FOLD.
EXTENSION OF THE QUOTA SYSTEM TO ORANGE SHIPMENTS IS REGARDED AS REMOTE BY SOME EXPORTERS, AT LEAST FOR THIS YEAR. THEY POINT OUT THAT THE GRAPEFRUIT SITUATION WAS RUINOUS, PRINCIPALLY DUE TO OVERPRODUCTION, THAT THE EXPORTERS WERE PRACTICALLY FORCED INTO LINE BY CIRCUMSTANCES, AND THEY FEAR THAT LONG-STANDING RIVALRIES AMONG THE CO-OPERATIVES WILL PREVENT AN AGREEMENT ON ORANGES.
WHILE THERE IS REAL OVERPRODUCTION OF GRAPEFRUIT, LARGELY, BECAUSE GROWERS HAVE MISCALCULATED ON DEVELOPMENT OF A WIDESPREAD TASTE FOR THE FRUIT ON THE CONTINENT, THERE IS NO SUCH SITUATION WITH REGARD TO ORANGES, MR. ROKACH SAID. THE PROBLEM THERE IS RATHER ONE OF UNDER CONSUMPTION, DUE TO ARTIFICIAL RESTRICTIONS SUCH AS PROHIBITIVE DUTIES AND IMPORT QUOTAS.
GERMANY, FOR INSTANCE, BOUGHT 1,500,000 CASES OF JAFFA ORANGES IN 1932, WITH IMPORTS STILL GROWING. PALESTINIAN EXPORTERS ARE SURE THAT NORMALLY GERMAN CONSUMPTION WOULD NOW BE TWO TO TWO-AND-A-HALF MILLION CASES, BUT THE IMPORT QUOTA IMPOSED SINCE HITLER’S ADVENT RESTRICTS JAFFA ORANGES TO 300,000 CASES, AND PAYMENTS LARGELY TO A LIMITED ASSORTMENT OF MERCHANDISE.
THE MAINSTAY OF THE JAFFA ORANGE TRADE IS, OF COURSE, THE BRITISH MARKET. FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES, THE UNITED KINGDOM WILL ABSORB ANY QUANTITY — BUT IF IT IS OVERSUPPLIED, THE PRICE DROPS. THE GROWERS’ DIFFICULTIES ARE TRACEABLE TO THE “BOOM” OF SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHEN MANY GROVES WERE PLANTED OR ENLARGED AT THAT TIME WITH FINANCING BASED ON THE EXPECTATION THAT THE HIGH PRICE WOULD HOLD. SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO FIND A WAY OUT OF THIS SITUATION.
ONE GROUP OF EXPORTERS IS GOING TO TRY TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION ON THE CANADIAN MARKET. THEY HAVE CHARTERED FIVE REFRIGERATOR SHIPS, EACH OF WHICH WILL CARRY ABOUT 25,000 CASES TO CANADA.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
