WHARFAGE ON WOOL

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30156, 13 June 1963, Page 16

WHARFAGE ON WOOL

Protest By Farmers

Protests at the Lyttelton Harbour Board’s decision to increase wharf charges on wool from July 1 will be made to the board by the executive committee of the meat and wool section of North Canterbury Federated Farmers. The board's decision was criticised at a meeting of the committee yesterday. At its last meeting on June 4. the board decided to raise the wharfage from 4s a bale to 4s Id a bale, which represented an average charge of 24s 6d a ton, compared with the average of other general goods of 6s a ton, the chairman (Mr R. E. Hiatt) said.

“This is just another cost against the farmer at a time when prices have flattened out at the top and costs are chasing them," he said. A copy of the protest which will be sent to the Harbour Board will also be sent to the Minister of Marine (Mr Gerard) “to focus his attention on the discrepancy of wool wharf charges in relation t,o general cargoes.” A similar course of action was decided on by Mid-Can-terbury Federated Farmers last Friday. Mr Hiatt said that farmers should ask that wharfage on wool be reviewed and be put on the same basis as other commodities. The average charge for wool at other ports throughout the country was 2s 4tjd a bale. At Timaru, the charge was 4s. Auckland. Is 4d out. is 5d , in; Gisborne, 3s; Marlborough, Is: Nelson, 4s 9d: Otago. 3s; Southland, 4s Hid; Wanganui, Is 3d: Tauranga, lOd; Whangarei, 9d. “There is a discrimination against wool," the vice-chair-man (Mr W. N. Dunlop) said. A suggestion that a representative of the Harbour Board be asked to discuss the matter with the section before any action was taken was made by an Omihi delegate, Mr T G. Maxwell, but after some information had been given by Mr Hiatt in committee, the suggestion was withdrawn in favour of the written protest.