“Faster Turn-round Or Freight Rise”

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30294, 21 November 1963, Page 16

“Faster Turn-round Or Freight Rise”

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 20. Shipping freight rates to the United Kingdom could rise by 12| to 15 per cent, the chairman of the Dairy Board (Mr A. Linton) said today.

This might mean an increase of £4 million to £5 million a year to New Zealand’s shipping costs, he told members of the dairy section council of Federated Farmers.

The increase would come unless some effort was made to improve the efficiency of shipping turn-round on the New Zealand coast. “Our producers pay more than £3O million a year in freights now,” said Mr Linton. “The primary industries could not meet a situation like this.”

The report of a committee set up by producer boards and shipping lines to study the whole shipping position would be out ii> the near future.

Overseas ships spent an average of 62 days a year on the New Zealand coast, he said. “If turn-round were speeded up. they would be able to make two-and-a-half or three trips a year instead of two.

“With streamlined facilities and methods, overseas ships could call at fewer ports and fewer ships would be needed because they would be making more frequent trips. This in turn would lessen the cost and could bring a reduction —or at least stabilisation —of freight charges." A top - level conference would be held on February 3 next year to consider the matter, said Mr Linton. He said also that New Zealand could jeopardise her quota position next year if the price of her butter on the British market was allowed to rise too high. He told a meeting of the dairy section council of Federated Farmers that a higher price might leave the way open for Britain to authorise substantially larger imports of butter from other countries next year in an effort to keep the price down. The board was interested in keeping prices stable at reasonable levels and maintaining an outlet for the maximum quantity erf New Zealand's dairy produce. Referring to suggestions that New Zealand should put her price up to maintain parity with other butters on the British market, Mr Linton said some of the highpriced butters came from small countries which sold

little butter in Britain and were not interested in maintaining a stable market. New Zealand could also create consumer resistance by raising prices, Mr Linton said.