DAIRY PRODUCE & MEAT

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 34, 10 February 1915, Page 2

DAIRY PRODUCE & MEAT

SHIPPING FACILITIES. (IT TBLBGRAPH— PRISS ASSOCIATION.) CHRISTCHURCH, 9th Feb. A statement was made to-day by Mr. A. W. Bennett, general manager of the New_ Zealand Shipping Company, regarding the shipping facilities for frozen meat and dairy produce during the present season. " Up to the present time," said Mr. Bennett, "the New Zealand Shipping Company have been able to fairly satisfy the demands for space, but owing to the requisition of the Hororata by the Government, I anticipate we shall not have nearly enough tonnage in March to supply the requirements of growers. I think we shall be much better off in April, and after that I hope that the diminution of the output of meat from Australia will Jiave the effect of bringing insulated tonnage over to New Zealand. In my opinion, the cause of the shortage of tonnage is not so much directly owing to the war, although that of course has taken a certain number of steamers out of the trade for troopcarrying, purposes, and two of the New Zealand Shipping Company's vessels, the Tokomaru and the Kaipara, have been destroyed by the enemy, but the cause lies mainly, in the fact that during the period from Ist October to the end j of February, owing to the enormous demand for meat In Europe and the early season for dairy produce here, there has been an increase in the shipment 'of meat And dairy produce equal in volume to the space occupied by a million carcases of sheep as compared with any other preceding year. That is equal to an average carrying capacity of twelve to fourteen steamers, and of course makes an enormous difference. As a matter of fact, at the present moment we are loading and expect to despatch in February seven steamers. In February, 1914, we despatched three steamers, and in February, 1913, we despatched three steamers. It will therefore be seen that the reason is not so much the scarcity of steamers as the enormous increase (which may be temporary only) of the frozen meat and dairy produce exports." l Regarding a complaint relative to the shipment of meat from the Patea works, Mr. Bennett stated that the New Zealand Shipping Company was bound by contract to most of the freezing companies in New Zealand to ship their meat. There was no such contract with the Patea Company, and the New Zealand Shipping Company could not, while there was such a rush for tonnage, take the meat from the Patea Company, and so shut out meat from other companies which they were bound by contract to take.