A TRIAL SHIPMENT OF HONEY. NO PROFITABLE" MARKET IN LONDON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2675, 21 June 1905, Page 10

A TRIAL SHIPMENT OF HONEY. NO PROFITABLE" MARKET IN LONDON.

c Messrs A. Moritzson and Co. klndJj t supply the following correspondence cone corning a trial shipment of honey sent tc - London: — f The honey we sent as a trial shipment 1c a London was the very finest white clover honej y from the Tapanui district. For years we have s received this man's consignments. He makes from 10 to 15 tons, and always topped the \ market here. Last yeai 1 , being a year of plenty. ' B top value was 3£d m the colony, and at thai "_ price we sold part of his output, lhe honej was packed in nice, clean, new, patent 561b tins, and in new cases, two tins fitting into a case specially made. The owner wished to trj * the English niaiket, otherwise we could have pold the 60 cases that were shipped within '" ihe colony also at 3£d clear. We may state ■" that a portion of this honey was shipped to ' the North Island, and gave satisfaction, and 3 we had inquiry for niore later on. The followt ing is the report we received from the- firm r wo shipped it to, and which does a large j colonial business: — r " Eeport of 60 cases honey ex Eaugatira on > account of Messrs A. Moritzson and Co., Dunf c-din, New Zealand.— H. 1/60. Sixty cases, each > containing two tins, set white to pale yellowish, , ordinaiy to fair flavoxir, a few samples inclined ( to ferment ; value, 22s 6d to 25s per cwt (nominally) ; wharf return several tins rusty, several casea stained." To make doubly sure that the honey shoiild ( receive fair treatment we communicated with . your Produce Commissioner in London, and he was kind enough to go in to the matter, and he writes as follows : — " The honey came to hand by the s.s. Ranga- ! tira, and I communicated with the firm as : lequested by you, and when the honey was landed they informed me of it. They placed the shipment for sale in the hands of Mincing Lane brokers (name given). Samples were drawn by this firm, which were shown in their sale room, and to-day the bulk was offered by public auction and sold. I do not know whether this was the m-ethod you intended to be adopted for the sale of your honey when you shipped it. Of course, it is a very easy way fcr agents to dispose of consignments, and no doubt there is a very considerable saving in -expense by this method. Whether ct not it is the best means of realising the highest returns for you, of course I am not here to decide. That is for your own consideration. Naturally, it is not for me, occupying my official position, to interfere with methods of business. Consequently I can only report, as requested, upon what has occurred. There was good competition at the sale, and the whole parcel, which was divided into 12 lots of five cases each, was sold ' with [ all faults * at 30s per cwt, two buyers taking the whale of it. The honey is reported ozx by the brokers to be a- good fair average sample of New Zealand honey. The colour is described as " set white to pale yellowish,' and the flavour as ' ordinary tc fair.' Several of th« tins had become rusty, and others had been stained, and in some of these the honey was inclined to ferment. The market at present is a fair one for the sale of honey. Consequently as a test of what may be reckoned on as an average price to be obtained on the London market, the present sale ought to be a suitable test. The brokers informed mo that whereas there is » good demand for honey similar to that sold on your account to-day, the special inquiry for New Zealand honey is for a finer flavoured, bright orange or yellow, quality. That the prioe realised must be considered satisfactory for the quality of the consignment at auction will be apparent when it is known that the brokers' valuation of it prior to tha sale was 22s 6d to 25s per cwt. If moderate and regular shipments of New Zealand honey were niad-e there is no doubt that better prices than that realised tc-day would be obtained. Naturally, occasional shipments do not meet with the same competition as parcels coming forward with regularity." This letter speaks for itself, and clearly proves that there is no market in London for our horey at a price that Would be considered payable by colonial producers. This sate, as your commissioner stales, is a fair one and should be a good test. The. following is the report of the firm we shipped the honey to: — " We are without any of your favours to acknowledge, and this merely serves to hand you separate advice of sale of your shipment of honey ex Eangatira, and we trust the price lealiaed of 30s per cwt will prove satisfactory to youi good selves. There was fair competition for the paicel at the auction, and as the heney was 'too white' in colour we consider the price realised a very full one indeed. Some of fine tins, we may add, showed slight signs of Wentation. Tne honey that is" bested oa tins market is a pale yellow colour" Account sales of 60 cases honey, by "the ss Eangatira, from New Zealand, sold in London by the undersigned by order on account of Messrs A. Moritzson and Co: -60 casesSr Si 251 l 9^' drßfi < 21b each > lew * Gqr ?ift f < 2 , W J> n e^> Mew* fiqr 241b,_57cwt 3or 151b net, at 30a par cwt, £66 16s 6d; discount, 2i per cent., £2 3s sd;— total £84 13 3 id Freight 150 ft at 35s and 10 per cent, as per b/l) £7 4s 4d; sale charges and petties, 12 lots, at 2s each £1 4s; landing 69cwt 3qr 171b, at 7Jd per cwt, £2 3s 9d; sampling and pots supplied, 13s; opening for Customs inspection 3 at is, ds ; coopering and materials, 7s ; taring 3 at Is each, 3s; re-weighing 69cwt 2qr 19lb' at 2d per cwt, 11s 7d ; rent, 6 weeks at 74d tier ton per week, 13s Id;— total, £4 13s lid less discount at 10 per cent., 9s 4d— £4 4s 7dWarrant stamps, 12 at 3d, 3s— £l 7s 7d • insurance, 3 months at 3s per cent, on £150, 4s ™ ' commission and guarantee, 3 per cent., £2 12s Id; net proceeds due 22nd December 1904 £69 0s 7d. ' The price would leave our man 2fd per lb net, London account sales, and this is subject to a small commission and the charges to put it f.0.b., so we do not think he has got much over 2d per lb for his honey when railage cartages, harbour dues, and Dunedin commissions aie paid. We can only add again that this honey is the finest that is put on the market. Every year we arc handling considerable quantities from various apiarists in the colony both in the North and South Islands and we must say no finer honey is handled by us. This year this man has only a small crop owing to the cold and wet season. We have his honey now before us, and it is open for inspection. We are giving you these particulars so that they may be published, seeing that our New Zealand expert (Mr Hopkins) is travelling the country and instructing apiarists what to do with their honey, and" writing about the London market. This is the second time we have tried the London market now, and the first consignment met with the same result. We learn from a reliable source that considerable quantities of honey are shipped regularly from California and India to London, and we also learn that this honey is mostly light amber coloured, and sells from 26s to 30s, Mid, in exceptional cases, at 325, and the shippers seem to be satisfied with that price. This, of course, we understand, does not pay our New Zealand apiarists at the present time, aor is there much amber-coloured honey pro-

T duced in the South Island. We have had amber-coloured honey from Auckland and the Barrier Islands, wkere the bees apparently feed on the pollen of the native flax flower, which gives the honey the amber colour. This honey is not required in the South Island at all, as the people prefer the white clover honey, neither do we think does the flavour compare favourably with that produced m the South Island, j ====^