MANCHESTER MARKETS

Evening Post, Issue 30, 4 August 1936, Page 12

MANCHESTER MARKETS

NEW, ZEALAND TRADE

TO SERVE TWELVE MILLIONS

"Evening Post," August 3.

Manchester invites more direct shipi ments of New Zealand primary products. It does so for two reasons: (1) The.port of Manchester serves a concentrated : population of 12,000,000 consumers,' 'and (2) substantial economies • are expected in freight and hanaiing ■\ chargvis. l\ir. H. V. Vvaue, representing <' tli,e^i»iancnester Snip uanai 'CJonipan/ "inViiusiraua ana i\ew £eaiana, is at present in me' uonunion euucdvouriiig to Siww primary prouuiiers me, auvcuita^is ;oi" snippiiig tneir feooas ' unvoc inti) ,tiie ,neaiti ox tne JVuuiands, uius serving a vast, inauscriai population, irtsteau oi via J_ionuun or .Liivcipooi, or by rouies oiner tnan-direct irum new Zeaiana' ports " to 'Mancnester. Mr. AVaae instances butter exports froui the Dominion- to Manchester, taKing the period August b,., lnoi>, to June o, 1906, in whicn Oincial returns snow that cargoes aggregating 1ub,744 boxes of New zeaiarm butter went direct to Manchester, and 2iu,isl3 boxes, also for Mancnester, went via .Liverpool. Overseas freights from JMew Zealand to ail British ports are at similar rates, he states, tnerefore the cost of forwarding New Zealand'produce, required by Manchester through other- ports could not be justified wnen the cost of transport from those other ports to Manchester had to be met. Butter landed in London and destined for Manchester had to bear a surcharge of 9d per box; or, if forwarded on a bill of lading to Manchester but landed at Liverpool, it had to bear a cost of 3£d to 4d. per box. These surcharges had'to be paid by some one; but they could be entirely avoided by. direct shipment to the port of Manchester; . FAITH IN THE VENTURE.

Manchester men had- shown their confidence in the commercial, importance of their city and- its, adjacent populous cities by excavating a canal over 35i miles long for ocean-going" '*. ships and digging out great dock •- basins, one dock being half a mile in * .Jength; they had built great sheds and ' stores furnished with the most econo-

• mical N and efficient of modern , cargo- ( -handling equipment; they had pro- ■ vided over 80 miles of port railways, • all lines being connected. with - main ,' .systems of British railways; and they r , had invested millions of money in *." their -great engineering and commer- -', cial enterprise. :. ""What they .wished the Dominions to 'realise was"the'commercial advantage of serving the-market of twelve' mil--1 lions of consumers direct from the ship's side; as it were, thus saving the cost of carriage from other ports of discharge. '. '' • Mr. Wade said "New Zealand has hardly scratched this great ahdcon- , -' centrated market of the industrial Mid- - lands through Manchester. Other countries were serving it. Why not New Zealand?"

from Auscust 16 last'year to July 21 * this year 27 vessels 'had left New Zealand with-produce. Of these ten only went direct to Manchester, and 171 and• ed Manchester 'cargo at .Liverpool. 1 '. '. MARKET FOR BUTTER. 1 - '. Mr. Wade added/. that Manchester 'houses in- 1934,' had • marketed over < 1,000,000 boxes of Australian -and New Zealand butter to 10,500,000 people within a radius of 50 miles of the port of Manchester; and 846,000 boxes had actually been distributed from Manchester. But of this great quantity - only 103,000 boxes had been landed at • the port of Manchester itself, the re- • mainder being drawn from London „ ■ and -LiverpooL- and, subject to transit ' surcharges. . Quoting average rail and cartage rates for.butter forwarded from named ports to 23 of the largest towns in the 1: Midlands, Mr. Wade said the- follow-

, ings were the savings that could be ' effected:— t '.-'. From 'London; 59s 6d per ton; from Hull, 33s'7id; from Liverpool, 26s 3d; i from Manchester,' 17s 9d. / :

'. -Reverting to -the market potentiali- , ties of the greater Manchester area, Mr. Wade said the" consumptive requirements of a population of 4,500,000 living within 25 miles of Manchester, that is ■within .van-delivery distance, were as follows:— " ' Butter, 52,400 tons; cheese, 14,800; meat, 67,200; apples, 55,000; dried fruits, 18,700 tons; and eggs, 584,000,000. i- ■ It was a, matter of economy as well ' as quality for New Zealand primary ; products to be marketed in the densely , populated industrial area of which the ; port of Manchester was the centre, the • goods'passing straight out of the ship's |. hold and going directly into consump-" 1 tion,- without loss of time or expense of transhipment and handling, and thus as much in the interests of the producer as those of. the consumer. 1