STORING BUTTER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22628, 16 January 1937, Page 13

STORING BUTTER

KING'S ;WHARF WOBKS CLEARING SHIPS' CARGOES ENERGETIC SCRATCH GANGS RAILWAY ACCUMULATION While union pickets idled outside the King's Wharf works yesterday, there was bustle and activity within, for a band of clerks and other permanent hands were storing boxes of butter in the cold storage chambers. Except for a few tons of butter withdrawn by wholesalers for the needs of the Auckland public, no butter is leaving the works; activities are concentrated on the urgent task of getting into cool storage before it deteriorates, boxes of butter from lorry, steamer and railway waggon.

"We are now taking in butter nt about, one-third of the usual rate," said Mr. J. S. Thomas, works manager. "We ought to have cleaned up the cargoes of two coastal steamers by to-night and will then probably clear six waggons. How are the clerks working at storing butter? One hundred per cent; practically as good as the old hands." Attention is concentrated on netting the butter, and not cheese, into cold store, for the case with cheese is not so urgent. The unloading of ships is given priority over railway waggons, for steamers must keep as far as is lyissible to schedule, although the storm on Thursday night held up some coastal shipping, so that there was not such an accumulation of dairy produce cargoes as otherwise would have been the case.

Stocks of dairy produre are accumulating in tlio Auckland railway yards, as labour is not available to transfer the butter and cheese into the cool stores. Yesterday there were 58 trucks of butter in the yards, and although the trucks are insulated, the produce will suffer a lower grading for export if it'is kept out of cool storage for any length of time. .Meanwhile, the Kailway Department is still accepting produce for railage to Auckland, although the freezing companies are advising country factories to hold produce in their own cool stores where practicable. Factories which have no cool storage facilities, of course, have to rail their butter immediately.

POSSIBLE GRADING DOWN

producers fear loss TELEGRAM TO MINISTER The possibility of loss to farmers as the result of the grading down of butter which cannot be placed in cool storage has prompted Mr. A. C. A. Sexton, M.P. for Franklin, to send the following telegram to the acting-Min-ister of Marketing, the Hon. W. Lee Martin, on behalf of the farmers in his constituency:— "Primary producers here gravely disturbed over freezing works strike. Will Marketing Department accept any. loss owing to butter being graded down due to inability to place in freezers?" The Minister lias replied as follows: "Have received similar telegrams from Farmers' Union and have replied that I have not yet been notified of any butter having been graded down, but will give matter consideration should necessity arise."

QUANTITY NOT SHIPPED STATE ASSUMES CONTROL ONLY SMALL AMOUNT INVOLVED About 1-1,000 or 15.000 boxes of butter which wore left behind by the Taranaki and Port Alma when they sailed from Auckland on Thursday night, and which will have to be left by the Tainui, which is due to leave to-night, are to be taken over by the Government. Notice lias been gazetted under section IS of the Primary Products Marketing Act. 10M6, determining that the ownership of dairy produce shall pass to the Crown prior to shipment. The notice declares that "ownership shall pass to the Crown as from January 15 and that the said butter and cheese shall become the property of the Crown and discharged from right, title or interest possessed in respect thereof by any other person." in a telephone interview with the H Kit A i.i) last night, the acting-Minister of Marketing, the Hon. W. Lee Martin. said that all the documents in connection with the shipment of the butter on these three vessels and the payment of the guaranteed price had been completed, and action had to be taken to fulfil the requirements of the Audit Department. The butter left behind was only a very small .proportion of the total shipped by the three vessels. The question of the Government taking over all produce in si ores had not even been discussed lie said. "The Government is alive to the position, and, of course, we .are not going to have things held up," the Minister concluded.