Shipping firms’ war hits New Caledonia

The dispute between ship ping companies serving New Caledonia, which has reached the chamber of commerce and the government council, has produced commentaries that are strange and sometimes amusing.

There are those who ex press surprise that freight dis counts on a service from Australia could lower prices of rice, butter or milk, and suggest that this is a deliberate promotion of Australian pro ducts.

There are others who point out that the containerised ser vice has been introduced to pul the small importers out of business, as they cannot order in the minimum quantities now required. There are even suggestions that Australian fruit, which generally travels by air freight, would now be

much cheaper and discourage

local production. (When local fruit is on the market, imports are prohibited).

One businessman, inter viewed by Noumea's France Australe. suggested that dis counts of up to 70 r/ ( were being offered to his com petitors. and he wondered whether the consumer was reaping any benefit. He even expressed the personal opi nion that importers were “putting the difference in their pocket", robbing the housewife, while the local companies might be forced to close down, leaving hundreds of waterfront workers out of a job.

The giant French shipping company, Compagnie Generale Maritime, has declared war on the regional lines operating out of Noumea. Not only has it in troduced its new roll-on roll off vessels to the Sydney-

Noumea service, but has also been offering some handsome discounts on the normal rates to some of its biggest customers.

The regional companies complain that as the CGM is actually receiving a subsidy from the State to maintain a regular service for the French territories, this means that taxpayers' funds are being used to put private enterprise out of business. The regional manager of CGM retorts that his company has only started a form of commercial promo tion that its little competitors introduced themselves many years ago.

Admittedly. CGM does not like competition. Noumean importers using the services of the Polish line claim that CGM has warned them that the French company will no longer load their goods. At the same time the company

has signed an agreement with its German and Dutch com petitors, which maintains a

steadily-increasing freight

rate from Europe and restricts the number of vessels used.

CGM has invested in new. modern vessels for the Pacific service, while freight has dropped by one third. The “regional" companies do not have the same fleet: CCC is an association of importers using old vessels that seem to have numerous difficulties. The in itials could well stand for

Crankshaft-Screw And

COLDROOMS, since break downs of these are the three major reasons for the ir regularity of its service.

Sofrana-Unilines is better known through the South-west Pacific as a New Caledonian, or is it a New Hebridean, no, perhaps a Wallis Island, ship

ping company?