Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-07-13
ROT
FOR LACK OF
CARGO SPACE
One Thousand Bunches a Week
Go to Waste While Coast
Asks for Island Product

One INouSdUo poUCHCo VI paHaHeS
are rottIng every week In Honolulu
because of lack Of steamer cargo
space to carry them to the coast.
The best bananas grown on Oahu
can be bought today at the fishmar-
kek and the Territorial Marketing Di.
vision for 20 to 50 cents bunch
not q dozen, but bunch, containing
six to nine dozen.
Where 5000 punches week used
to be shipped seven or eight years
ago, when the big liners of the old
Pacific Mail fleet we're running, In
cluding the Mongolia, Manchuria, Ko-
rea and Siberia, now it is a lucky
week which sees more than $500 go
out, and usually the number Is not
over $500 or 1000 lunches.
Accordingto Chun Hoon, one Of the
biggest exporters Of bananas In the
territory, fully 1000 punches go to
waste every week after he 81 Fps out
all he can get away on Matson boats.
He showed Star-Bulletin reporter
yesterday 100 punches of fine bananas
and said anyone who wants these can
have them for so cents bunch for
the big punches and rs for the small
ones, 4. nix "a
We get whatever we can for them"
he said. ~. ~ IN -
Every week get orders from San
Francisco dealers offering me $1.75 to
50 a bunch for my bananas. They
want more than can send them, but
as the Matson boats are the only
steamers accepting banana shipments
now, am up against 1t when il comes
to filling all my orders. The fruit Is
here but We can't get 1t to the main.
land says the Chinese. He says he
used to send 5000 lunches on one Of
the old Pacific Mail boats alone.
Supt. A. T. Longley of the Terrific
rial Marketing Division, when seen
by the Star-Bulletin, substantiated
Chun Hoon's statement "He Is en-
tirely right" said the superintendent.
we have the same kind of bananas
and anyone who viii come and give
us from 20 to So cents bunch can
take home enough to keep his or her
family eating for two weeks
The bananas now being offered at
those prices by both Chun Hoon and
the marketing division have from
eight to ten "hands" and run from
six to nine dozen to the bunch. At
IS cents bunch the cost per dozen
is roughly cents; at SO cents, about
q jitney q dozen. The price in Cali
fornia today is from 80 to so cents q
dozen.
Castle & Cooke, the local Matson
agency, said the Maui took out $500
bunches Wednesday. She and the
Matsonia can carry $500 to 5000
punches. ~ -4s-.-..
The WilheImina can. carry a little
more than 1000 punches, and the Ma
noa about $500. r. -,.....>
Owing to the eoastwise shipping
laws the Japanese liners can take no
cargo from Honolulu to the coast, and
the three Pacific Mail boats are
barred by the fact that they are Of
foreign build and hence cannot en-
gage in coastwise trade. However,
even II they could, they would carry
no bananas now, as they are chock-a-
block every trip to the coast, with
through cargo. = Ill.,.
The Oceanic Steamship Company
Is an American line and can carry
cargo FROM this port to the coast but
every steamer for the last six months
or more has been full up to the last
ton with cargo from Australia to San
Francisco, and has had no room for
the humble banana, nor even for isl
and sugar. Oceanic steamers right
now are leaving freight behind in sgd
ney and San Francisco, so great Is
the volume Of business offered in ex-
cess Of the lines steamer tonnage.
All last winter the Great Northern
was boon to banana shippers, but
she has not been running since last
April and will not be on the run again
until November. She may not be in
the Hawaiian service then, If she is
taken over by the government in the
meantime for use as a scout cruiser.