NEW ZEALAND’S WEST COUNTRY MARKET

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 65, 9 December 1938, Page 30 (Supplement)

NEW ZEALAND’S WEST COUNTRY MARKET

The Port of Bristol Authority has devoted much care and attention to the reception and distribution of refrigerated produce and is fully entitled to the success that has been achieved in recent years. Before plans for the Port’s present coldstorage layout at Avonmouth took definite shape, the Authority made a close study of the requirements of the trade, and a scheme was evolved by which the amount of handling and length of exposure between ship and cold storage were reduced to a minimum. The result is a cold-

storage system that has earned the commendation of visitors from all parts of the world. The*photograph gives a comprehensive picture of the layout and clearly shows the direct communication from the vessel via transit shed and galleries to the cold store immediately at the. rear. The actual operation may be described briefly as follows: Electric roof cranes on the transit shed lift cargo from the holds of the vessels and lower it through hatchways in the roof on to the top floor of the shed. Here the goods are rapidly sorted to marks and placed on trollies. The loaded trollies are then attached to an electrically-driven escalator running through the galleries to the top floor of the cold store, whence they are taken by lifts to the storage chambers or, if required for immediate transport, to

the delivery platforms for loading to- rail or road vehicles.

New Zealand products form the major portion of the traffic handled at the Royal Edward Cold Store at Avonmouth, thanks very largely to the policy of decentralisation which New Zealand producers have pursued. Direct shipment to Bristol began somewhat tentatively several years ago, but as confidence in the marketing power of the Port grew, more and more meat, butter, cheese and fruit found its way into West Country shops and homes than ever before. The population of the great area served by the Port of Bristol,

numbering some 12-j millions, is rapidly becoming New Zealand-minded so far as these commodities are concerned —a factor which ensures steady and lucrative expansion of the business. Shipments of New Zealand dairy produce and meat show large increases this year. Apart from the obvious wastefulness of consigning the produce by devious routes, direct shipment ensures the goods reaching the shop in a far cleaner,' fresher and more attractive condition because of the minimised exposure and handling in transit. For a number of reasons —few of them justifiable —a considerable portion of West Country supplies of New Zealand produce is still arriving through London. Happily, however, producers and shippers are rapidly appreciating the advantages of direct access to consumers.