Vol. IV. No. 92. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



325 



CONFERENCE OP BANANA GROWERS 

 AT BARBADOS. 



A large and representative gathering of banana growers 

 met at Barbados on Friday, October 1-3, for tlie purpose of 

 discussing the present situation in regard to tlie banana 

 industry. 



In opening the conference, the Imperial Commissioner 

 of Agriculture stated that the industry had been started on 

 very modest lines. In the year 1902 they shipped IS 

 bunches of bananas ; in 1903 they shipped 6,691 bunches ; in 

 ly04 they shipped 15,326 bunches, and already, up to the 

 5th. instant, they had .shipped 28,018 bunches. It was not 

 unlikely that they would ship about 40,000 bunches of 

 bananas during 1905, which would be a very good record for 

 practically the third year of operations. By the last mail 

 they shipped 2,700 bunches. That was the largest single 

 shipment yet made. 



He considered the position of the industry was a very 

 promising one, provided attention were devoted to the 

 following points, viz., (1) that local shipjjers continued to 

 select good, large bunches of bananas, cut them at the 

 right time, and were very careful in packing them, so 

 that they should arrive in Bridgetown in first-cla.ss order ; 

 (2)' that the Boyal Mail Company did their best to assist 

 the industr}-. Without the heart}- co-operation of the mail 

 company it would be impossible for the industry, not only 

 to be carried on, but even to exist at all, because there were 

 other people coming into the field, who were likely to be 

 very keen competitors with local shippers in the space 

 available on board the Ivoyal Mail steamers. Trinidad, 

 British Guiana, and St. Vincent were all proposing to ship 

 fruit. 



The Royal Mail Company, on his (Sir Daniel's) 

 suggestion, had installed the Hall system of cold storage 

 in the 'Tagus' and 'Trent.' That system had proved an 

 entire success. Recently the 'Orinoco' had also been fitted 

 ■with a cold-storage chamber, which, though not cjuite a.s 

 large as those in the 'Tagus' and 'Trent,' was yet capaVjle 

 of holding 2,500 to 3,000 bunches of bananas. 



If the industry developed sufficiently, however, the 

 company was prepared to fit cargo ships with cold- 

 storage chambers and make them regular fruit ships. 

 That was a development that would likely come on 

 earlier now than before, on account of the starting of a new 

 fruit company in Trinidad, called the British West Indian 

 Fruit Company, Limited, in which the Royal ilail Comjiany 

 had a considerable interest. Operations had already been 

 started in Trinidad and very soon that colony would be 

 exporting bananas on a large scale. They would export 

 bananas naked — not in crates — and consec|uently would not 

 compete with Barbado.?, except as regards space By under- 

 taking to fit up their ships with cold-storage chamber.s, 

 the Royal Mail Company had nursed the industry in its 

 early stages. In fact, the chambers were primarily intended 

 for carrying Barbados fruit. It was understood, however, 

 that the company could not reserve space for Barbados banana 

 growers, unless the latter were prepared to fill that space. 



The cjuestion, then, to be decided was : What could 

 the)' do to ensure that the Royal Mail ships would not come 

 to Barbados filled, so that the local .shippers coidd not get 

 the accommodation they had hitherto been accustomed to ? 

 In order to ensure sufficient space, it was necessary for 

 them to give the company notice, beforehand, of the 

 amount of space required, which would, of course, have to 

 be p:iid for whether used or not. 



There were several peojile in England who were anxious 

 to be agents for the fruit from Barbados, but JNIessrs. W. 

 Pink & Sons had practically brought the trade into its 

 present proportions and they deserved support. The time 

 would come when the Barbados banana growers would have 

 to make some arrangements to sell their fruit locally. They 

 might deliver the fruit in Bridgetown, get paid for it 

 according to the equality of the fruit, and then leave the 

 matter of shipment entirely in the hands of the purchasers 

 of the fruit. That was the only practical course to be 

 pursued. There were two companies that were likely to 

 make proposals in that direction. 



He hoped that Mr. Skinner, the ^Managing Director of 

 the British West Indian Fruit Company, and Mr. A. F. 

 Clark, of Jamaica, who had been appointed Manager, would 

 visit Barbados to study the conditions and make definite 

 proposals to the planters with regard to carrying on the 

 industr}'. 



It would be for the local growers to decide whether 

 they would enter into a contract with the company and sell 

 their fruit for a certain price all the year round, or whether 

 they would ask a fixed price during the six months when 

 the trade was slack and a liigher price during the other six 

 months. He thought that if they obtained for their bananas 

 a price which would net them, after paying all expenses, 

 Is. 3(7. to l.s. 9(7. per bunch, that would probably be as 

 reasonable a price as they could hope for. 



Sir Daniel Morris stated that he had that morning 

 received a letter from Jlr. Owen Philipps, Chairman of the 

 Iioyal Mail Company, in which the latter stated that he 

 would be sailing from New York on the ' Tagus ' on the 

 18th. instant and would be passing through Barbados on 

 November 12, when he hoped he might have the 

 pleasure of seeing him (Sir Daniel) to discuss questions 

 in connexion with the fruit trade, in which they were 

 mutually interested. He suggested that a small committee 

 be appointed as a deputation to wait on the Chairman of 

 the Royal ilail Company and put their case before him. 



Mr. .1. R. Bo veil stated, with reference to the 15,326 

 bunches cf bananas shipped last year, that those who shipped 

 single bunches received 2s. 5'3(/. per bunch on the average, 

 while those who shipped in double crates received 2s. 3'5c?. 

 The reason was that during four months last year the losses 

 were very heavy. He had returns from certain shippers, 

 one of whom gave the average cost of shipping as lid., 

 another put down his at Is., another at Is. ll^'., and one at 

 Is. 2(7. Those figures included the cost of growing, packing, 

 bringing the bananas to town, and everything else. 



After further discussion, Mr. S. S. Robinson expressed 

 the opinion that bananas would pay in Barbados, but what 

 prevented many growers from planting on a large scale was 

 the uncertainty of the transport. 



On the motion of Mr. Bovell, seconded by Mr. W. D. 

 Shepherd, the following gentlemen were appointed a deputation 

 to wait on the Chairman of the Royal Mail Company on 

 November 12 next, and present their case before him with 

 the view of obtaining an assurance that their fruit would 

 have a fair chance of being accepted for shipment by the 

 company: — The Hon. F. J. Clarke, the Hon. G. L. Pile, 

 the Hon. Richard Haynes, Messrs. A. P. Hayne.s, E. A. 

 Hinkson, J. R. Bovell, G. P. Skeete, E. L. Hollinsed, 

 S. S. Robinson, G. Eliott Sealy, and E. E. H. Tliorne. 



A vote of thanks to Sir Daniel Morris, moved by the 

 Hon. F. J. Clarke, and seconded by Mr. Robinson, brought 

 the meeting to a close. 



