Export barley moves quickly

Press, 18 May 1984, Page 17

Export barley moves quickly

Several export barley cargoes, representing more than half the export business this year of the Merchants’ Barley Consortium, have either loaded or are due to load at South Island ports. The chairman of the consortium, Mr Lyn Townsend, said this week that merchants, farmers and transport operators were in the middle of a period of considerable shipping activity. It began with the loading last month of the Cape Trafalgar, which took 23,500 tonnes from Bluff and Timaru. The Virtuous this week loaded a record cargo of 24,000 tonnes from Timaru and the Pilos took aboard 18,000 tonnes at Bluff and a further 3500 tonnes at Lyttelton.

The Kilmun will be in Timaru next week to take 12,500 tonnes and Mr Townsend expects another vessel in June.

The shipping of more than 80,000 tonnes in only a short period will do a great

deal to relieve farm storage congestion. Much of the grain has gone out of Timaru because of that port's superior grain handling facility. The necessity for direct receivals from truck to ship has meant that Lyttelton has not been favoured. New grain silos are being built there.

Mr Townsend said the international market for malting barley was not good at present, an anticipated shortfall in the E.E.C. having not eventuated.

The merchants were at present shipping barley for contracts made as early as last spring, when prices were much higher. They were also trying to make more sales to move the balance of the harvest as soon as possible, he said. As well as the present difficulty making sales, New Zealand exporters had to contend with the normal frustrations in finding suitable vessels in this part of the world, said Mr Townsend.