DRAWING TO A CLOSE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 964, 6 May 1930, Page 11

DRAWING TO A CLOSE

SEASON OF 1929-30 COOL STORES CLEARING GRADUALLY Pressure on Auckland cool space has been relieved somewhat over the past week or so; apart from the fact that a number of extra vessels, additional to those arranged for earlier in the season, have lifted cargo at Auckland wharves, there has been a. big falling off in the amount of produce coming forward. A month ago the adequacy of Auckland’s cool storage space for the amount of produce coming forward was questioned in some quarters. it was found necessary to make arrangements for storing of surplus produce in stores other than those usually called on for primary produce. Some cheese, for instance, was stored for a short while in one or two of the better ventilated and cooler grain stores of the city. It was also found necessary to advise fruitgrowers that they would have to keep to their earlier commitments in respect to space; that there would be no room meantime for the surplus brought about by a heavy increase in production. This week fruitgrowers have been further advised that there is now ample storage space for all they can send forward. The position has changed considerably over the past two or three weeks and May is expected to be a very heavy month for butter and cheese shipments. SEASON OF HEAVY PRODUCTION The season 1929-1930, which is rapidly drawing to a close, has been a most prolific one- from the point of view of the production of primary produce. Butter and cheese have reached fresh high levels; fruit is also well ahead of previous records; beef, mutton and lamb are well up on early expectations, while the figures for P° rk : wkic ! l S av ® every indication at the beginning of the season of being down on last year, have rallied toward the close, and final returns should be little under last year’s phenomenally high figures.

The position today is that the season is practically closed. Comparatively speaking, the amount of dairy produce coming forward is almost negligible, while killings at the works keep reduced staffs working only part time.