REFRIGERATED SPACE

Southland Times, Issue 18833, 28 May 1920, Page 6

REFRIGERATED SPACE

AMPLE TONNAGE IN SIGHT. STATEMENTS BY SHIPPING REPRESENTATIVES. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, May 27. At the Producers’ Conference to-day, Mr James Findlay (Shaw, Savill Company), said he was unable to give any information as to when the Imperial Government’s control of insulated tonnage would end. Speaking for his own company, he thought there would be ample space available. Mr J. R. Roper (Commonwealth and Dominion Line) said his company’s war losses had been replaced by eight larger vessels and at the end of the year there would be two more. There would be space for 2,653,000 carcases per annum if the ships made two trips a year, but there were many delays which were against that. Mr G. B. Bullock (New Zealand Shipping Company) said that if the producers would only leave themselves in the hands of ihe shipping companies he was quite sure they would-be absolutely all right. Mr Findlay pointed out that after providing space®for dairy produce there would be available space for the carriage of 10,400,000 carcases a year, while New Zealand’s production was equivalent fo 7,000,000 carcases. There would, in fact, be more space available than could actually be filled. When asked to say something with reference to the future freight rates to be charged by the shipping companies, Mr Findlay said there was not the slightest chance of any information on that point being available at that moment. The shipping companies would endeavour to give producers as cheap a rate as they possibly could. Distance for distance it would be as cheap as any country in the world, but when it came to saying what the freights would be he must #ay no. It was useless to try to corkscrew out of him any opinion at all as to what the freights would be.

The conference at this stage adjourned for separate discussion of the particular in-tern-1 - of producers, shipowners, freezing and exporters.