THE PORT OF LONDON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21406, 6 August 1931, Page 9

THE PORT OF LONDON

ALLEGED high rates REPLY TO TRADERS’ PROTEST. LONDON, August 5. (Received August 5, at 8 p.m.) The commercial manager of the Port of London made a statement to the Australian Press Association in reply to the Traders’ Committee report. He said: “ I am not speaking for the whole of the United Kingdom, because the rates vary, but as far as London _is concerned there has been a substantial reduction in the past eight years, including 7i per cent, on dues and shiprents in February, 1925, a further 2$ per cent, reduction in 1927, and still another in 1930. Then the ship-rent rate was further reduced in September, 1930. There have also been reductions in the bulk handling of grain.” A previous message read as follows: — The Traders’ Committee on the co-ordina-tion of dock charges, which includes, representatives of the Chamber of Shipping, the Associated Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of British Industries, and many other trading associations, in its report protests against, the continuance of the present high rates and points out that there has been practically no reduction at British ports for the past seven or eight years, though wholesale prices have fallen by 34 per cent.,, the cost of living by 15, and freights by 33 per cent. The dues per ton on ships discharging whole cargoes of grain worked out gt 5d at Belgian ports, 7.21 d at French ports, 5.02 d at Dutch ports, 10.81 d at German ports, and 19.73 d at ports of the United Kingdom.