PRICES OF BEEF

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 302, 21 December 1943, Page 5

PRICES OF BEEF

CASE FOR BUTCHERS

REPLY TO MR. SULLIVAN

(PA.) WELLINGTON, this day. The prices of beef were the subject o f a reply by Mr. T. W. Stephenson, -resident of the Master Butchers' Association, to Mr. Sullivan's recent warning against failure to observe [he price order. After giving a Mailed analysis of buying and Sling prices current in Christrhurch in the last twelve months, ivir Stephenson says there was a total ]o SP t0 tne retail trade in Christrhurch of £29.209 on steers. That was the contribution Mr. Sullivan expected butchers to make to stabilisation. Why should the butchers be expected to contribute that amount? %lr. Sullivan says if the butchers are prepared to pay these excess orices they must absorb the consequent losses," said Mr. Stephenson. "Apparently he intends the public to go without, beef, but when we slackened off on the purchase of beef in order to induce the public to chance over to mutton, there was a sharp rise in mutton to as high as 9d a lb instead of the Government price of 6Jd a lb. Does the Minister wish us to co on feeding the public or does he not? Apparently not, because on his argument we must not buy live stock unless we can buy it at prices which will enable us to sell it at his fixed price. ""The farmers will not sell unless they obtain a price equal to production costs. The production costs have already been submitted to the Government and proved to be higher than the price set by the Price Tribunal's price order. It, is, briefly, a case of seeing the farmer gets what he wants at the expense of the retailer. It looks as if the Minister is afraid of the farmers and is using the butchers to do a job he does not want to do himself." Mr. Stephenson said Mr. Sullivan talked of prosecutions, just as he talked of prosecuting the freezing workers and miners last year, "but instead of talking and threatening, I suggest he puts the buying of live stock on a sound basis, and avails himself of the advice and guidance of those who have a complete knowledge of the situation, and who have repeatedly offered their services in this direction."