CORK FAMINE THOUGHT PROBABLE

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22136, 5 July 1937, Page 8

CORK FAMINE THOUGHT PROBABLE

Effect of Civil War in Spain

PRICE ALREADY DOUBLED

ITIIE PRESS Special Service.] AUCKLAND, July 4. A cork famine, although it sounds unreal, is a probability if the war in Spain continues, and New Zealand will be one of the countries affected. Already there is an acute shortage. Spain has almost a monopoly of cork. It is the home of the cork industry, as everyone knows who has been there. The cork forests are among the sights for the tourist. Big trees like pohutukawas, they cover hundreds of square miles, clothe the slopes of hills and mountain ranges, make shelter in sunny valleys, and extend down to the fringe of the Mediterranean. Impressions of these forests and of the delightful climate were given by an Auckland merchant importer, Mr C. Hughes, who is one of the leading representatives of the cork trade in New Zealand. He mentioned that the price of cork has been increased by 100 per cent, since the beginning of the Spanish war a year ago, and is steadily rising. "The cork market is in an extraordinary condition," said Mr Hughes. "The expert foresters who were employed in keeping the big Spanish factories supplied with cork-wood have been called away to the fighting line and as the months pass the situation is becoming very difficult. To-day some of the manufacturers are thinking of closing down. "New Zealand, which draws a considerable °i lts cork im P ol "ts from that source, is still able to obtain regular supplies, for there is an outlet by rail round the Pyrenees and through the south of France to the port of Marseilles. Of course, railage involves extra cost, but the increase is probably not as great as would be involved in shipping direct from opain m face of the present dangers."