BUTTER AND MEAT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1836, 23 August 1913, Page 2

BUTTER AND MEAT.

SOUTH PACIFIC MARKETS, DEPUTATION TO U.S.S. (XX Yesterday afternoon a number of Wellington merchants interested: in the export trado to Vancouver waited on Mr. M'Lennan (of tlio head offico of the Union Co.) and Mr. W. Kennedy (Wellington manager), at the company's offices, wit3i regard to the conditions of freight and spaoo for butter and meat for Vancouver. Mr. D. J. Nathan stated that tho conditions Tinder which Wellington merchants wero asked to tender for spaco this year made it practically prohibitive for him to continue in tho business. Ho covered the wholo ground of the exporters' griovdncos, which have already been published. Other members of tliQ deputation spoko in a similar strain. In reply, Mr. M'Lcnnan said that tho Union Company was doiaig its best to meet tho trade in tho matter of freight arrangements. The trado had gTown enormously, and' tiro company was providin;? this season refrigerated space equal to 230,000 boxes of butter on tho Vancouver steamers. Ho anticipated that this would bo much in excess of tho demand, as tho total shipment last season was 115,000 lxixea. Continuing, he said that the Vancouver steamers would be nblo to copo with all tho traffic, although tlio spaco they had to provide undftr the contract with' tho Now Zealand Government was very (much less. The company, too, had made additional arrangements on its own initiative. Tho company, he continued, would consider the matter of postponing tilio date of receiving applications for spaco till a later date than September 1, but it would have to got tho Government's sanction, and also that of tho .■drippers in other parts of New Zealand to this. Witli regard to the matter of tho exporter paying coastal freight to Auckland. ho stated that it was customary to do this in other countries. Somo of tho speakers pointed out that if spaco could bo booked six months ahead instead of a year ahead, the position would bo easier. On behalf of tlio meat companies, Mr. Sladdoiv (Meat Export Company) said that so far as they wore concerned tlio position appeared to bo this: Preference was to be given to dairy produce freight, as it paid better than meat freight, and applications for space for meat freight would receivo consideration only after butter freight. Mr. M'Lennan said that Wellington would scon 1m in n better position in regard to the San Francisco trado, which he thought would very largely develop. Tho contention of tho meat companies' representative was that this was purely speculative. If the meat exported had a market at tho present timo in San Francisco, it would not pay thorn to supply from stock, as tlio meat would all have to bo repacked, and every Joint marked to comply with tlio United States regulations. Further, Mr. M'Lennan pointed out that some of the shippers expected to ship to Vancouver, .via San Francisco without paying tho coastal conneotiou between tho latter and former port. The Union Company did not think that was advisable, becauso there was excellent pros-, peels of a new market opening lip in San Francisco. It would, then, be a great pity if New Zealand missed the opportunity of getting into that market through having the space occupied with cargo for Vancouver. In other words, it was most desirable to have two markets on tlio Pacific Coast. There was really no need to ship via, San Francisco, as thtero was fimplo space available by the steamers from Auckland. Tho deputation then withdrew.