Lower Freight Rates

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 220, 13 June 1933, Page 11

Lower Freight Rates

Sir, —While not disagreeing with all your correspondent, "Business Mau,” states in his letter, appearing in your issue of to-day, I would like to draw his attention to the local freights. As an exporter I do not think our troubles lie in the matter of . overseas freights but in local , conditions. Is "Business Man” aware that it costs more to send,/say, two cases of local products 200 miles on our railways than it does to send the same two cases from Wellington to London? . We hear so much of de-centralisation, but every Government seems to back up the action of our railways in penalising inland exporters and driving them 'to ‘he cities. Common sense does not seem to enter into the matter when freights are being arranged. Why should there be any difference in the freights of butter, cheese, lard, dripping, meat and fruit products. These all weigh approximately the same for the space taken up and surely all these are of importance to the extension of our export trade, but for some reason our railways advisers seem to think the smaller and struggling lines not of sufficient importance to receive any consideration in the shape of cheaper freights. Why should one producer profit at the expense of another? They are all on the land struggling for an existence, but the railways make fish of one and . flesh of a nother. We have no kick coming against overseas freights while local conditions remain as at present.—l am. ete, EXPORTER. Hawera, June 8.