HUGE BUSINESS.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16415, 8 January 1919, Page 6

HUGE BUSINESS.

OPERATIONS OF IMPERIAL SUPPLIES DEPARTMENT. NEARLY £80,000,000 PAFD OUT. (special to "the press."i WELLINGTON, January 7. A return just compiled covering tho operations of the Imperial Supplies Department contains some extraordinary figures, showing the huge business that this little Department has carried on since it. was established on March 3rd, 1915. It should be remembered always that the Department has not since that time dealt with all tho products which are now on tho list. At first it was concerned only with frozen meat. In the period of less than four years the Department had made payments, up to December 31st, amounting to the stupendous total of £78,509,889. Tho total was made up as follows: — £ Frozen meat ..« ••• 30,813,504 Cheese — 1915-16 season ... ... 917,748 1916-17 season ... ... 8,295,557 1917-18 season ... •... 4,855,790 1918-19 season ... ... 944,703 Butter— 1917-18 season 2,929.975 7918-19 season ... ... 726,923 Sclieelite ... ... 128,802 Wool ... 27,082,319 Freezing companies' glipo wool ... ••• 3,292,875 Sheepskins ••• ••• 1,881,714 Hides 1 704,577 Other business ... ... 1,435,997 Total ... ... £78,509,889 Upwards of 250 cargoes of meat hare been loaded on this coast and despatched to the order of the Imperial Board of Trade. The quantities of meat were as follows: — Quarters of beef ... ... 2,293,217 Mutton (freight carcases) ... 7,974,675 Lamb (freight carcases) ... 9,323,813 The moat in store on November 30th last, for which no spaco had been allocated in oversea steamers, was.— Freight Carcases. North Island 2,612,390 South Island ... ... 1,660,637 This may be taken as some indication of the amount of meat now in the stores. Some of this meat has no doubt been allocated space in outward steamers since November 30th, but the amount of meat so accounted for must be at least equalled by the killings since that date. This year the season has been late, and the Wellington works are just now beginning to run at full capacity. On December 16th. 1918, there were in store in the North Island 227,679 crates of cheese and 29,738 in the South Island. On tho same date there were in store 189.207 boxes of butter in North Island stores, and 27,855 in the South Island.'

The sum paid for wool has been paid for 1,122,279 bales. The number of bales of wool available for shipment on December 31st was 535.411 of greasy wool £nd 112,244 of srourbel, and fellmongers' slipe wool. These figures take no account of the operations in freezing companies' slipe wool, which i 9 bought under different arrangements. On December 316t there were in. storo 60,525 casks of tallow, miking 22.696 tons. This product is not being purchased on account of tho Imperial Government; it is awaiting shipment at owners' risk.