NO EARLY CHANGE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 147, 3 April 1941, Page 6

NO EARLY CHANGE

THE SHIPPING DIFFICULTY.

EXPORTS FROM NEW ZEALAND.

PRESENT BASIS THE ONLY HOPE United Press Association—Copyright.) (Rec. 12.50) LONDON, April 2. Holding out no hope of early improvement in imports from New Zealand and Australia the Minister of Shipping (Mr R. A. Cross) said at a conference of members of the Empire Press: “Our shipping is being more and more forced back to the nearest source for supplies. As far as one can reasonably see we may be faced with a decline jn shipping for a considerable time, after which the best that can be hoped for is a levelling out to the present basis.

“The only means of getting increased imports is new methods of stowage, such as boning beef. Unfortunately this is more applicable to meat from South America than from New Zealand and Australia, upon whom we are dependent for our dairy products.” Mr Cross, reviewing the general position, said that ships under the British flag were 5 per cent, under the number at the outbreak of the war. He did not include ships bought or requisitioned, etc., hut many factors made the position not as rosy as it appeared. Britain had now bought all that could he bought. The Middle East campaign took up great tonnage. The convoy system slowed down voyages and the turnabout in ports where there were many difficulties of ' unloading, which all reduced the number of voyages a ship could make in a year, resulted in a, serious drop in imports. This was coupled with the exhaustion of tho supply of ships on the eve of the battle of the Atlantic.

There was the contra account that we had greater stocks stored in Britain than at the outbreak of the war. We had a faster fleet than'in the last war and better submarine devices. Finally, Mr Churchill had personally taken charge of the battle of the Atlantic, which was the surest guarantee that every resource will be galvanised into action.