EXPORT OF EGGS TO CANADA.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1885, 20 October 1913, Page 10

EXPORT OF EGGS TO CANADA.

' '5 FIRST SHIPMENT.

The first shipment of eggs from New i Zealand to Canada on a commercial basis will lotve Auckland this week. A Cbristchurch correspondent has '• forwarded a brief history of the movement obtained from Mr. A. E. Kent (the , honorary export secretary of the Christ- , church Egg Fanners' Association). The onthusiasm shown by the promoters . in seeking outside markets is convinc- j ingly shown by the size of the chamber engaged, tho methods of packing and 'grading,-and| the quality of the eggs r chosen. ' Mr. Kent stated that his association, j which represents the leading egg-farm- £ ers of Canterbury, wroto to the Hon. Thos. Mackenzie when ho was Minister | of Agriculture, and requested that tho Government, should assist the poultrymen of New Zealand by trying an ex- a periment shipment of eggs to Van- | couver and other market. Tho Agricultural Department at once took tho •'matter up; Dut before anything practi- g cal was done, 'Mr; Massoy came into g power. A deputation, representing the -j poultrymcn of New Zealand, then wait- c ed upon the Primo Minister (Hon. W. s F. Massoy), who gavo the deputation a ■favourable reply. Within a very short v Bpaco of'time a trial shipment was got ready, and both Vancouver and the g London markets .were tested. Theresuit, of these experiments was sV satis- f, factory that .Canterbury egg farmers 0 / 'determined to follow up the Govern- e ment lead, and a meeting of representa- £ tivos from tho New Zealand Utility s {Poultry Club, the Canterbury Egg ], Circle,, and ths Christchurch Egg Farm- s crs' Association , met .to make arrangements for a shipment to Vancouver. a 'After . much hard work in preliminary e arrangements, tho whole project fell s through, vowing to a technical flaw in ij thd rules of; the New Zealand Utility g Poultry Cliib,\whose body was' fo con- ttrol the financial side of the venture. The Cbristchurch Egg Farmers' were g | determined, however, that the time and monev spent should not be .Fruitless,; jnnd decided to test the Vancouver markot on its own acco.unt'. 'In response to circulars, the • association members j, promised GCOO dozen eggs,! to bo.spCead ,] over three shipments.;- .This; was considored satisfaot6fyv^d ; >.arrani;emehts. wore then entered '"ititb' 1 ' with the shij)- lv ping company. At this stage the venture received a severe check, as it was c ] found that the smallest chamber avail- ; r able was one thousand cubic feet, which c , required 10,000 dozen eggs to fill it. [ ]( The assistance of the Government was w then sought, and an officer of the Agri- p, cultural Department made a -special trip c ] to Dunedin, to see if a smaller chamber could be provided, but tho Union Company had such a demand for space that Vi 'it could not. reduce tho size of its ' chamber, and, although late in the day, the; A griculturo Department advised the Egg Farmers' Association to make the shipment a colonial 'one, and try and at 'fill;,'the chamber in the s.s. Niagara, of leaving Auckland in October. The as- ai ,-sociation had to charter the chamber, E, '■and take of filling. it, but the 'response from other centres, and the gi help given ,by the. -Canterbury Egg i'o Circle, and Mr. John Studholmei, of Cold- he stroam,' who lias generously contributed 600 dozen, was so, satisfactory that the ,B< whole consignment is now" complete, in Mr. Kent! pointed out that. the estab-, ;to lishmcnt i'lif. an export trade would''of only, moan increased spending power : in. . New Zealand, but it would have, the ef- m feet of levelling nrices. Egg farmers ire would increase their flocks, and conse-quently-new-laid eggs would be cheaper pc in the winter season. pi The Otago, Wellington, ' and the su greater portion of the Canterbury ship- mi ment is being handled by the New Zea- po land Provision ahd Produce Company, who are. leaving no stone unturned to Sa make-the venture a success. / It is ex- in pected that next season the export trado will be carried out on a very to large scale.- ra