Dairen, June 26.
The humble soya bean of some motiths ago is rapidly becoming a far more precious article, to judge by present price and the freight charged to carry, it to Europe and elsewhere, Beans ate now seeing: their peak price since the memorable Slopression year of 1020 while the Osaka Shoshen Kalshs, the shipping Jeompany which carries the greatest quantities of beans between Manchoukuo and Japan is lifting its freight rates from July 15 by 20 per cent.
Nor is that all as the shipping rate on staples from this port to Europe has more than doubled from: what was considered us normal some time age Two years ago the freight rates on beans to European ports fluctuated between 18 and 18s. per ton while at present it costs 475. to move a ton from Dairen to Europe. "Only two years ago manyovessels lett this port in ballast while many others were dawdling around the waterfront beg~ ging for cargoes of staples from here at 14 oF 185, ton to Europe.
Bean quotations on the Dairen pro duce market are at the moment hovering round Y. 8 per picul which Ig about 6 sen per pound or Y. 132 per long ton, Including the current freight rate the cost per ton, exclud~ port charges Is about Y. 160 per fon in European ports.° The weight employed for beans in Manchouk is usually the metric ton, Great Shipping Boom This is Indeed a great boom time for all shipping lines carrying beans and other staple products from Dairen fo Europe, Of these various shipping firms the Hamburg-America takes frst place. During 1936 this company carried 128000 tons of beans from Dairen to' Hamburg and Rotterdam. The Rickmers line transported 92,000 tons for the same period, the North German Lloyd 64000 tons and. the Blue Funnel 6,000 tons. For the first four months of this year Ham~ ure America ships carried 64,000 tons of beans to Europe from here.
The phenomenal rise in freight rates, according to the manager of tone of the big shipping firms here, is partly due to the world-wide short {in bottoms and congestion in freight teaM@e Between the Far. ast and North European ports, There is no slackening, "however, "in the brisk demand for Manchoukuo staples as they are needed badly in Europe for their valuable olls and pfotein-con-{alning residue when the oil has been extracted.
Ina minor way the shipping of groundnuts from Shantung at Tsingtao witnessing the same rise in price and freight rates.
Despite the active business in beans: Agures show that Dairen is not exporting as much as in former years and this must be placed. to a large extent on the improved facilities of the Korean port of Rashin. present nearly 1,500 tons of beans can bbe loaded daily at this harbour and on company in Dairen is exporting round 30 per cent. of its total shipments from Rashin,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.