A LETTKii from Mr Henry Buttle, ol Piako, appears in this issue, accompanied by an account sales of a shipment of mutton and lamb sent to the English market by the s.s. Taiuui in January. Our correspondent is not at all pleased with the result of the investment, and very naturally so. The statement shows a loss of over £46, which is, however, lessened by a charge of £16 16s for marine insurance which appears twice. This amount will be refunded as the London consignees made the charge unaware that it had already been paid here by the shippers. But, we do not agree with Mr Buttle in condemning the exportation of frozen meat from the Waikato because his shipment has turned out unremunerative. It so happens that wo have also been shown the returns of two other shipments from this district, which tell a story of another and more pleasing kind. One was a consignment of 149 lambs per s.s. lainui in March last. They readied London at a favourable time and realised 6 06d per lb., or equal to twelve shillings per lamb of thirty-six pouuds. The total charges were barely fifty per cent., leaving a nett proceed to the producer of over £84. The other instance was a much larger shipment, of 36 carcases of 1,204 of mutton, and 1,230 lambs. 'lhe total charges were over £1,576, and the total receipts £2,626, leaving a credit balance of nearly £1,050. The beef realised, nett, £4 15a 2d per carcase, the sheep six shillings and twopence and the lambs eight shillings and twopence per head ; and, wo are informed that the latter were an inferior lot of which had to be cleared off the run. Ihp results in both cases were highly satisfactory to the producers. There is a just grievance in Mr Battle's letter against the freights, which are too high ; and also as to the large per centage absorbed by middlemen. These charges, however, arc similar to those incurred by shippers in Canterbury and other parts of the colony, with very trilling exceptions. The different experience between the Auckland and southern shippers is due to one great cause, namely the absence of sufficient enterprise in this part of the colony. _ It is not correct to condemn the whole industry by the failure of a single shipment. There should he regular monthly exports from Auckland, as there are from southern ports. Our producers should be prepared to meet the fluctuations in the English market, and instead of being depressed by a slight loss on one consignment, look forward to covering the deficiency by the success of a succeeding shipment. In support of this view there are the results of the other two shipments from Waikato given above; and, in further illustration, let us suppose Mr Buttle's consignment had reached London ami had been sold last week, when the cable ((notations were sixpence halfpenny for mutton and eightpence for lamb. In place of a loss of thirty or forty pounds, he would have been made glad with a nett profit of about two hundred pounds sterling.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18890704.2.11
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2649, 4 July 1889, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
517Untitled Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2649, 4 July 1889, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.