Shortage Of Shipping In August

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31092, 22 June 1966, Page 3

Shortage Of Shipping In August

A shortage of shipping for meat and dairy exports, possible overtaxing of dairy cool storage, and disruption of wool sales are effects of the British seamen’s strike expected in August by the New Zealand producer boards.

“The matter is serious and the sooner we know how serious, the better,” said the Assistant Secretary for Overseas Trade, Mr K. L. Press, yesterday.

There is sufficient shipping available to handle New Zealand exports until August, when there will be both a shortage of ships and an increased volume of produce for export. Yesterday the producer boards indicated that.— About 80 per cent of New Zealand’s meat production for the present season has been shipped, or has ship ping arranged for it at this date, but in August only a fraction of the shipping space required will be available. Dairy exports will continue unhampered until August, and unless the strike ends this month only one third of the shipping required will be available, and after that there is a danger of cool store congestion. If the strike is prolonged it could lead to congestion in wool stores and disruption of wool sales. The Meat Board announced that 417,000 tons of meat out

of an estimated season’s slaughter of 516,000 tons was either shipped or provided for, the Press Association reported. Nonetheless there were serious problems involved in programming for loading in New Zealand from August onward, said the board. Although ships had been requested for the loading of 32,000 tons of meat for Britain and the east coast of North America during August, only three would be available and they would carry a total of 8500 tons of refrigerated produce, not all of it meat.

The board expects that cold storage available will be sufficient to cope with the remainder of the season’s production. The British shipping lines operate under contract to the New Zealand producer boards for the transport of refrigerated produce from New Zealand to the United Kingdom and other destinations with the exception of the west coast of North America, Japan, South-east Asia and the Pacific Islands. Transport in these latter areas is not affected. ALTERNATIVE WAYS New Zealand meat to Pacific destinations is carried by ships of various countries. The use of additional foreign ships at any point is not contemplated at this stage. Air freight is used for a comparatively small part of New Zealand’s meat exports. Normal airfreighting will be carried on, but it is not economic to air freight meat to Britain under present conditions. The Dairy Board said that 11 ships which will take dairy

produce to the United Kingdom are at present on the New Zealand coast. Four of them have already finished loading dairy produce and all 11 will sail for the United Kingdom between now and the end of July. However, eight or nine ships will be required for all shippers from New Zealand for the August sailings and of these only three are in sight at present. These are ships which have already left Britain. Five or six additional vessels will be required for the August sailings and unless the strike ends this month it will be almost impossible for all these ships to reach New Zealand, load here and sail in August, even assuming they will leave the United Kingdom In ballast. BETWEEN SEASONS The board says that at this time of the year New Zealand is “between seasons.” The bulk of the old season’s goods have been shipped and the flow of goods from the new season has not started. At present there is no pressure on cool store space in New Zealand. The danger is not of a present congestion but of/congestion later in the season when the goods will be coming forward in large volume and shipping schedules will be disrupted. Referring to the possibility of using foreign shipping, the board says there is very little foreign shipping available with anything more than, small amounts of refrigerated space. The secretary-manager of the Wool Commission, Mr J. G. McDonald, said that if the

strike was prolonged it could have serious repercussions throughout the coming woolselling season. With the rapid growth of the wool clip the timing of woolstore operations was down to a “split hour.” Sales were held in each centre approximately every 28 days. In that time the stores had to be cleared, the ships loaded and a new sale set up. When the season was in full swing there was no spare time or space to accommodate a pile-up of wool.

The winter sales would start in six weeks and in August 110,000 bales would be sold. Shipping would normally have been arranged by now for this.

Apples and pears are shipped from New Zealand to Britain from February to May and shipments were almost completed before the strike began on May 17. There could be some disruption to the export of canned apples and pears and by-products to England.