LACK OF SHIPS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26781, 26 May 1948, Page 4

LACK OF SHIPS

CARGOES FOR NORTH 5 DUNEDIN PENALISED CITY MANUFACTURERS' CLAIMS Repeated representations made in the past few months by manufacturers, importers, and shippers in Dunedin to Ministers of the Crown and the local members of Parliament have had the effect of shipping being provided to lift a large accumulation of goods from this pout for delivery at Wellington and Auckland. The Kopua loaded over 2000 tons of cargo here and sailed last week for Auckland, the Karitane, which normally is on the Wellington and Lyttelton run, has been allotted over 2000 tons to load for Wellington .it this port next'week, and the Waipiata is expected from Bluff on Friday to load a similar quantity of cargo for Auckland. Local manufacturers are gratified that their representations have been successful in having sufficient shipping allocated to remove a great part of the accumulation of cargo here to the main North Island ports. Those interviewed by the Daily Times yesterday, however, said that Dunedin was still to a large extent a “ Cinderella ” port because the allocation of space provided for shipments to the North Island was by no means a regular one in comparison with the facilities provided in the north. They claimed that the recent special provision of shipping space for North Island ports would not have been made had there not been repeated representations on the subject.

The manufacturers said that the accumulation of cargo in stores here awaiting transfer to the North Island continually caused them financial embarrassment because of the value of the goods involved; it prevented them from giving more than a nominal service to their buyers in the north, and they were forced to send a considerable. quantity of their goods through the mails and by air freight at a much higher cost merely to establish sincerity in their endeavours to supply northern buyers. A manufacturer with considerable experience told tire Daily Times that under the present system of shipping allocations. Dunedin was starved of the small, shallow-draught ships which traded here before the war because they had been diverted to the West Coast trade to supply Wellington and Auckland. The virtue in these craft was that they were able to be turned round quickly. He recalled that three-weekly services operated from Dunedin to Picton, Nelson. Wanganui. New Plymouth. Wellington, Napier. Gisborne, and Auckland before the war. and claimed that the services had been transferred to serve North Island interests to the detriment of the South Island. A further example of the necessity for better shipping services to the North Island was provided by a city fruit merchant. He pointed out that a part of a shipment of bananas for Dunedin had to be sent here by ferry and rail from Wellington, and the fate of the rest of the shipment was not yet known. He added that this method of supplying Dunedin with bananas, which was necessary because of a lack of shipping, resulted in a heavy increase in the cost of the fruit.

The fruit merchant said that the last few shipments of bananas had come to Dunedin in this way, and must have caused heavy expense to the Internal Marketing Division. The' price of bananas to the local fruit, trade was a fixed one for the whole season, whatever method of transporting the fruit was adopted. He added that the quality of the bananas suffered from ferry and rail journeys owing to excessive handling and chilling en route in cold weather. He added that a shipment of pump : kins which arrived by the Wainui

must have been a disastrous one from the shippers’ point of view.. The ship made good time from Gisborne, but unfortunately the pumpkins were stowed beneath the rest of the cargo, and were at the wharf for almost a week before delivery was made to the city markets. The result was that a heavy loss was incurred when the consignment had to be repacked.