BULK MEAT SALES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 175, 26 July 1930, Page 7

BULK MEAT SALES.

POSSIBILITIES IN BRITAIN.

CONFLICT OF OPINION.

A STATEMENT AMPLIFIED.

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.)'

WELLINGTON, Friday.

"That New Zealand would refuse to sell tlie whole of her meat supply to Great Britain yearly" is a statement alleged to have been made by Mr. D. Jones, chairman of the Meat Board, to a gathering of English Parliamentarians. Strong exception was taken to this dictum by Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Gisborne), who placed a question on the Order Paper of the House seeking the opinion of the Minister of Agriculture as to Mr. Jones' authority to speak for the people of New Zealand.

The Hon; A. J. Murdoch replied to-day that the statement was made apropos of a suggestion that the British Government proposed to devise some scheme for purchasing all imported meat supplies. "It is considered," added the Minister of Agriculture, -"that such a scheme would not be elaborated without prior consultation with New Zealand and other Empire countries supplying meat to the United Kingdom, and as no communication referring to it had been received it would be premature for the New Zealand Government to take action." Chaos in Market. Mr. Lysnar expressed regret that the chairman of the Meat Board had presumed to speak for the whole of New Zealand in this matter. His own opinion was that the Dominion never enjoyed greater prosperity than when the whole of its meat and wool was purchased by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, yet Mr. Jones had stated that if the whole of the produce were sold to Britaiy there would be chaos. But it was chaos which reigned in the meat market to-day, for the net return on beef to the NewZealand farmer in England was not 3d per lb. Two large firms had combined for meat buying, to the detriment of the Dominion, and despite the low return to producers the retail price- of beef in London to-day was nearer 2/ than 3d. Chairman's Reply.It was explained by Mr. Jones that during the course of- an address to British members of Parliament the question arose as to whether New Zealand would sell its meat- straight out to Britain, and the - reply he gave was that so long as Argentine shippers were free to land their meat in Britain and to have a free market New Zealand could never afford to dispose of the whole of its output to the British Government. If they did so, and prices fell, the British-Govern-ment might hold the meat, in anticipation of prices: improving. While that course, was being followed the Argentine shippers' would step in and supply the demand. Then when the time came to negotiate for disposal of future shipments New Zealand would find itself with two or three million carcases of old season's stock on hand. In the meantime, all connections built up by the Dominion would have been lost and the whole business demoralised. He quoted a retail price-list to prove that prime American chilled beef was selling in London at IOJd per lb when, according to Mr. Lysnar, it was 2/. During his visit to England 0119 of the most serious positions arose in the frozen 111 pat trad® which had ever occurred, and it was on If? by the assistance given by the big? importers and New Zealand's connections in London that the market was held up. The men who helped were, added Mr. Jones, deserving of more consideration than thev received from Mr. Lvsnar.

"As farmers at 110 time were we so well off as during the commandeer." declared Mr. Poison (Stratford). "We knew exactly what Ave were going to get for our produce, and we' cut our coat according'to the cloth. Any sug-presttion that the farmers of the country would not agree to such a system can only be an individual opinion."