Woolgrowers Plan Ship Charter

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31498, 12 October 1967, Page 13

Woolgrowers Plan Ship Charter

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright)

SYDNEY, Oct. 11. Twenty New South Wales woolgrowers have nearly completed plans to charter their own ship to carry wool to Britain in competition with the liner freight service organised by the British and Continental shipping service. On Monday the growers called for quotations on the Baltic Exchange in London for the charter of a 10,000-ton vessel to sail from Sydney on November 14 for London. Shipping authorities in Sydney said on Monday they expected the cost of chartering a liner freighter of this size, capable of 14 knots, would be about sAustlsoo a day. The move is seen as a revolt against both transport systems, particularly the Conference trades, and the pattern of wool marketing through open auctions. The new wool transport proposal relies on at least a substantial proportion of the wool sent to Britain being

bought direct from growers who will guarantee the yields from their fleeces.

The action by the woolgrowers is the culmination of many months of hard work and reflects the widespread and deep-rooted dissatisfaction of many Australian primary producers with Conference freight rates. The growers are confident that by chartering the ship they will save about 50 per cent over Conference freight charges. At $l5OO a day for the charter and allowing a generous 50 days for the charter, to take account of stevedoring and bunkering and so on, the charter would cost about sAust7s,ooo. Stevedoring and other storage and transport costs would have to be added to this.

The Conference freight rate is 4.15 d sterling per lb for wool, or about sAust3so,oCo for the 28,000 bales involved in the initial shipment. The final comparable figures for the charter and Conference costs will not be assessable until the proposed charter is completed. But even -allowing for the Is 9d sterling a bale royalty rebate and the 7 per cent cash rebate by the Conference for various fringe charges, and

for the considerable charter cost increase, the gap between the probable charter and the Conference costs could be significant There have been many warnings of primary producer dissatisfaction with Conference freight charges during recent years. But the 23 British and European lines in the Conference have been secure in the knowledge that they have a Commonwealth Government sponsored monopoly of the trade between Australia, Britain and Europe. Their reaction to criticism of the freight rate charges has not been to reduce charges, but to rationalise vessel programming to economise in the use of vessels. Wool is the backbone of the whole Conference line freight service. It is the biggest and most remunerative of all the cargoes handled. The revolt by the New South Wales growers against the Conference system began last year when a small group of graziers, led by Mr J. Maple Brown and Mr D. G. Mackay began to explore the possibility of chartering tonnage to get their wool to market.

Under the leadership of these two men, about 20 graziers from the southern tablelands have banded together to assemble 28,000 to 30,000 bales of wool. They have already received market assurances from woolcombers, of Bradford, and two other companies who are prepared to buy direct from growers, with growers arranging shipment.

The container proposals of the two British shipping consortia, Overseas Containers, Ltd, and Associated Container Transportation, Ltd, depend on their securing wool as the key container cargo.

Without wool the programme initiated by the two consortia could become uneconomic.

They will only be able to get this cargo if they can meet the lowest cost that Woolgrowers will have to pay to get their clips to British and European mills. So far the most they have been able to offer is that freight costs will not be any higher than present Conference costs.

For the 20 New' South Wales growers concerned, this cost is too high.