"OUTLOOK NOT ROSY."

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 281, 28 November 1938, Page 13

"OUTLOOK NOT ROSY."

FREEZING WORKS PROBLEM. higher charges POSSIBLE. (Jtoa Oar Owa Corrwponrtent.) GISBORNE, Sunday. The freezing charge* at the Kaiti and Tokomaru Bay work. may have to b* raised unle*, ther. U a substantia increase in the number of atock killed at the two works, according to a state ment by Mr. H. B. Williams, chairman of directors of tlie Giaborne SheepfarmciV Frozen Meat and Mercantile Company, Limited, in his address at the annual meeting of shareholder*. "The season under review ha* lieen far from satisfactory, and the record floods of February and May, plus the facial eczema outbreak, had a ~n stock in this district, said Air. William#.. "The flush of feed helped cattle, but retarded the fattening " sheep. and in the case of the Tokomaru Bav factory resulted in the lowest ki 11- {~* experienced for many years Hie stead v increase in wape rates during recent vears. combined with the reduction „f working hours, must carry with it * proportionate increase in production costs: in fact, the freezing workers , award tiled in January la«*t meant an increase in costs of roughly 11 per cent, while freezing charges remained the same If vim add to this the fall in the value of by-product* and the reduced turnover one docs not wonder at the freezing department 1os«. "Taxation is again increased by the social security charge of 1/ in the £1. and this. together with the uncertain market for by-products, forecasts a revision of charges in order to meet the position. The outlook for the coming rear is not rosy." The possibility of the works at Tokomarii Bay being closed down was mentioned by the chairman in reply to Mr. : V. ('. T>. Mitford, when it was stated | that the Kaiti works had shown a profit of £3(100. whereas the works at Tokotnaru Bay had shown R loss of £0000. The chairman explained that farmer* in the coastal district had been circular- i wed on the matter. The works were to be given a further trial under what the directors believed to be more promising conditions, and if thfe experiement was | not more successful the closing down of the works seemed inevitable.