PRODUCE FOR BRITAIN

Southland Times, Issue 24492, 21 July 1941, Page 6

PRODUCE FOR BRITAIN

VAST QUANTITY FROM DOMINION SAVING OF TIME ON WATERFRONT (Special) WELLINGTON, July 20. The vast quantity of primary products sent from New Zealand to the United Kingdom in less than two years of war and the saving of time on the waterfront under the co-operative contract system were reviewed by the Minister of Marketing (the Hon. J. G. Barclay) in a broadcast address tonight. He said it was estimated that there had been a saving of at least two days a vessel. Since the war began New Zealand had produced and shipped to the United Kingdom 254,000 tons of butter, 210,000 tons of cheese and 598,000 tons of meat, and had sold to Britain 1,600,000 bales of wool. This represented enough butter to make a wall six-feet high from Auckland to Wellington, enough wool to form a continuous line from the North Cape to Stewart Island, enough cheese to extend more than 1000 miles and seven times more meat than the weight of the world’s largest liner, the Queen Elizabeth. CHEESE PRODUCTION

A tribute to the farmers was paid by Mr Barclay for their response to the call for increased production. He said that the country would be able to ship to Britain 25,000 tons more cheese than in the first year of the war. The supply of 160,000 tons of cheese to Britain in the coming year would involve working double shifts by existing factories, reopening old factories and 4000 farmers changing over from butter to cheese supply. Many other sections of the community would have to play their part. Mr Barclay said that to fill overseas ships as quickly as possible special trains loaded entirely with either butter or meat were being despatched from the cool stores and freezing works to the main ports. Loading on the waterfront had been speeded up with the result that the work done by waterfront labour had increased as follows: Mutton and lamb, 41 per cent; beef, 27 per cent; frozen sundries, 32 per cent; butter, 18 per cent; cheese, 22 per cent; wool, 23 per cent.

“The secondary industries are also doing their bit,” the Minister said. In addition to ordinary primary produce, New Zealand was supplying biscuits, oatmeal, canned sausages, chocolate, pickles, pickled onions and processed cheese, the value of the existing contracts being at least £1,000,000. The Dominion had also shipped or had ready to ship to military canteens, New Zea-land-made chocolate, fancy biscuits, ale, cordials and large quantities of toothpaste, boot polish, meat pastes, writing ink and cigarettes.