NEW PLYMOUTH PORT BUSY

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1932, Page 7

NEW PLYMOUTH PORT BUSY

INCREASE IN FIGURES FOR JULY. FOUR MORE OVERSEAS ARRIVALS. There is a big increase in the figures for the port of New Plymouth for the month of July as compared with the same period last year. In July, 1931, 25 vessels, including three overseas liners, visited the port, and last month, although the total number was the same, there were four more overseas arrivals. The gross tonnage of ships using the port during July, 1932, was 65,564 tons, as compared with 33,326 tons for the corresponding period last year, an increase of 31,328 tons gross. This difference was made up largely by the increased number of overseas vessels.

The total imports for the period were 11,184 tons, compared with 8957 tons last year. Exports totalled 3733 tons (1907 last year), and the total cargo handled was 14.917 tons. This shows an increase 0f'4071 tons over the corresponding period of 1931. a The secretary of the Harbour Board, Mr. C. S. Rennell, said it was difficult to compare one month with another. For instance, in one year the slag imports might come in June, while in the next year they might not arrive until July. This year, however, t'hero had been very little slag imported, while a fairly large amount of phosphates had come in. The Forresbank, which completed discharge a few days ago, put out more than 3000 tons of Nauru Island phosphates. This was, he thought, in a large measure due to the Government’s subsidy, but he also thought the price of slag was too high for the farmers at the present time.