TRADE FROM CANADA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21473, 22 April 1933, Page 7

TRADE FROM CANADA

VANCOUVER'S BUSY PORT

ACTIVITY IN GRAIN Activity at the port of Vancouver continues at a high pitch, and February j grain shipments attained record figures for the period. Total grain exports from the opening of the present crop year on August 1, 1932, to February 28, 1933, are far in advance of the corresponding seven months of tho previous crop year, with tho great bulk of tho shipments going to the British Isles and European ports. A marked increase in apple shipments through Vancouver and other British Columbia ports has been a feature of this year's business. For the month of February, total grain shipments aggregated 10,035,654 bushels, a new port record for tho month, as compared with 6,795,513 bushels for the same month last year. Total grain shipments for the crop year up to the end of Februarv, 1933, amounted to 68,049,318 husliels, as compared with 44,556,489 bushels for tho similar period in 1931-32. Of this year's total 58,502,270 bushels went to Britain and Europe, 8,806,664 bushels to the Orient, and tho remainder to other countries. Apple shipments through British Columbia ports up to tho week ending February 18, 1933, totalled 701,025 boxes, as compared with 150,603 boxes to the same date last season. VICTORIA'S EXPORTS SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE PROSPECT OF A RECORD [from our own correspondent] MELBOURNE, April 13 With nearly three months of tho season still ahead, there is every prospect that Victoria's exports for 1932-33 will create a record. The existing record for a whole season, which was established last year, is £15,591,522. Exports so far this season have reached a total value of £13,509,278. The total for the corresponding period in 1931-32 was £11,884,279. These figures are exclusive of wool and hides. The exports for tho past week, valued at £447,991, show a substantial increase above that for tho corresponding week last year, when the total was £383,643. Largo shipments of fresh fruit, dried fruit, wheat, Hour and other commodities have still to be sent abroad. Already several sections of exports of primary products have passed the total for tho whole of the previous season. The shipment of dried fruits to Canada has not yet started, and there are still many ships chartered to load wheat and flour from Victoria to the East. Butter is showing a seasonal declino, but there is every prospect that the total value exported for the season will be ahead of last year's record total. It is expected that fruit shipments to Europe will continue until June, and this will considerably augment tho export figures for tho State. CARRIAGE OF FRUIT NON-REFRIGERATION PLAN TASMANIAN SYSTEM A development of great importance to the Tasmanian fruit export industry has been the experimental shipment made recently to Europe in a chartered Dutch ship. Tho fruit was carried bv the non-refrigerating system on the upper decks of the vessel. If tho experiment succeeds, no doubt further shipments will be made in similar circumstances. The scheme was adopted as a means of augmenting the shipping space available for the heavy crops this season. Special keeping varieties of apples were selected, and if it can be proved that.the hardest fif varieties can be carried successfully in this manner, the benefit to Tasmania will be great. On previous occasions apples have been carried without refrigeration for long distances in Australia, on journeys that have occupied as long as two weeks, and it is hoped to extend this period to four or five weeks. Success, it is expected, will mean the development of a valuable market in Holland.

AUSTRALIAN EGGS BETTER SALE IN BRITAIN PROBLEM OF CARRIAGE [from our own correspondent] SYDNEY, April 13 " Australian eggs have come into their own on the English market," said Mr. J. B. Merrett, formerly of New Zealand, the representative of Australian eggs, on his return to Sydney this week from his eighth annual visit to the United Kingdom. Mr. Merrett added that success had been due to excellent grading and quality and regular shipments 1 during the English winter, as well as to a wide publicity campaign. Australia, said Mr. Merrett, was now the largest exporter of eggs to Great Britain during the winter. The value of her exports had grown from £6OOO in 1.924 to more than £1,000,000 in 1932. Exports during 1932 had shown an increase of 65 per cent on the previous season. Prices, said Mr. Merrett, had been lower in 1932 than in previous years, and there appeared to he no prospect of improvement in the c6ming season. The value of Australian exports could bo increased by improved methods of carriage. Eggs on the voyage to England had shown a shrinkage of 20 per cent in contents, due to the evaporation of moisture in cool storage. This discounted tho value of the eggs considerably. He had brought with him from Kent samples of eggs passed through 'a vacuum to extract the natural gases, which had been replaced by a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. He would submit tho samples to tho Department of Markets, and hoped to demonstrate that tho process prevented evaporation and stifled growth of mould. Mr. Merrett expressed tho opinion that English producers might ( shortly demand the application of a quota system to Australian eggs. Production of eggs in Great Britain had increased 40 per cent in the last five years, and the English poultry farmer was finding his market secured by Australian eggs. If a quota was enforced, Australia would still find an outlet for her surplus eggs, by shipping frozen pulp to the English market, for uso by bakers, who now secured 98 per cent of their puip, valued at £5,000,000 a year, from China.

AUSTRALIAN MINERALS IRON, GOLD AND COPPER At Iron Knob, on Eyre Peninsula, South Australia has ono of the most valuable known iron ore deposits, and it was largely from there that- the State's production of iron ore, 538,000 tons, valued at £618,000, was dorived in I'J.'s2. That quantity was tlirco times as much as that mined in lfi.'il. Renewed activity in gold prospecting was reflected in tlio State's production of £21,000 worth of gold. But, strange to say, tho State, which once had in tho famous Burra Burra and Wallaroo copper mines tho richest workings of that character in tho Commonwealth, produced no copper last year. Howover, there are largo quantities of ore at Moonta and Wallaroo awaiting treatment.