HOP CARGO.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 158, 28 March 1908, Page 5

HOP CARGO.

c . : ' .V' MORE TROUBLE FOR KENT GROWERS. BY TELEGBAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION— COPYBUffIT. : ; London, March 26. The " Daily Express" states that..the steamer Adriatic' left New York .yesterday with 3000 ton's of hops for London, chiefly from tho Pacific coast. Owing to a glut owners are glad to accept a price much below the. cost of production. A CRY FOft PROTECTION. The condition of the' Kent hop industry was latoly considered by the Central and Associated Chambora of Agriculture, which resolved:—"That the state of the hop industry in this country, with its attendant serious diminution- in tho amount of labour employed on thb land, is one that calls for the immediate consideration: of His Majesty's Government." In the:discussion, a protective duty 1 of 40s. per cwt. on hops was advocated. It was stated that.tho number of acres under cultivation had decreased from 71,000 in 1878 to 44,000 in 1907. As a result of the agitation, the Government appointed last month: a . select committee to inquire into tho 1 stato of tho industry. It is estimated by tho growers that tho average cost of growing hops and producing 10 cwt. per acre up to tho time of piclcing is .£3O per acre; cost of picking and drying, 30s. to 40s. per cwt.. mating a total cost of from .£45 to ,£SO per aero. Of this total, from .£.30 to ,£32 is spent upon labour; consequently the labour bill in respect of tho whole of the English hop acreage amounts to rather more than .£1,500,000 per annum. When, as lately, the growers' are asked to sell their, hops at 70s. per cwt., there is cstilfiatod to be a loss of JBI4 Is. per acre. Tho growers consider that they must sell at £5 per cwt. to get their money back. It mav fairly bo assumed that, if a byelection occurred in Kent just now, tariff reform would bo a considerable feature. Of eight electorates in tho County, five aro represented by Unionists, and three by Liberals.