NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17979, 3 January 1922, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE.

DELAYS AT HOME PORTS. CONGESTION NOW OVER. The unreasonable dels.? in unhiding New ftaiand produce from *hirm at British ports ww recenUy the subject of » strong protest by Mr. Massey to th® Secretary oi State for the Colonies through Ei* Excellency the Governor-Genera", Lord Jeliioo®. A cablegram dated London. Deceir.bitf 29. h;„s been received by the Prime Minister from tie Colonial Office, which ntates that t'lis matter had been inquired into and it wasi now believed that the congestion ot i shipping had reached it* crisis in September, and that the posuon would be I normal early this year. The congestion j 1 was entirely due to the abnormal lmporU--1 tion of meat which had been greatly in ! , excess of cold storage accommodation, 1 causing delay in discharging ships and aj consequent hindrance,to the handling of other cargo. | During the last 10 mouths the Port of | London Anthority had bundled 66 per cent, j more meat than in the same period in j 1913, the message continued. The cold , storage in Loudon uas ample for normal conditions and in pre-wsx days tie Ftoree were less than half full for eight months in the year The Port of London Authority 1 would continue to do everything possible i to ease the situation The delay and waste j of storage space wa6 due to the small separate consignments of meat arriving. There no difficulty regarding the storage of butter and cheese as the greater 1 part of thus produce wax cleared at once; ■ but butter and cheese could not be - chimed until the meat had been placed in cjW storage- The question of diverting chips had been found impracticable in; most cases for the reason that meat de- . finitely consigned to London could not at present be sent elsewhere.