Four ships beat levy deadline

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33424, 4 January 1974, Page 8

Four ships beat levy deadline

CV.Z.P.A. Staf! Correspondent)

LONDON, January 2

Four ships carrying cargoes which included New Zealand lamb reached British ports on the last two days of 1973 to beat the 8 per cent import levy on sheepmeat beingapplied from January 1, 1974.

The levy is part bf the 20 per cent tariff Common Market countries are required to J imptose on imports from non- | Market countries, and will be increased in multiples of 4 per cent on subsequent New Year days until the full 20 per cent is reached on January 1, 1977. The Port Auckland, with almost 300,000 new season’s lamb carcases, reached Southampton on Sunday; about the same time the Hinekura, which loaded lambi at Wellington, Lyttelton, and Timaru, anchored at Sheer-' ness.

Two other ships, the Port Chalmers and the Australian Endeavour, made their destinations w'ith even less time to spare, reaching Liverpool and the Tilbury Docks, London, respectively on New Year’s Eve.

Another recent arrival, which beat the deadline comfortably, was the Shaw Savill liner Majestic, shortly to be taken over by the New Zealand Shipping Corporation. It reached Sheerness with a cargo of lamb on December 23.

All these ships are carrying new season’s New Zealand lamb. But there is one vessel still

at sea which has been unable to meet the deadline with a cargo which includes old season’s lamb. The freighter Essex, which hoped to reach Southampton before the end of the year, was held up in Rio De Janeiro, and is not expected now until January 9.