ARGENTINE MEAT FOR BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25766, 30 March 1949, Page 5

ARGENTINE MEAT FOR BRITAIN

Negotiations Progress Slowly

REPORTED PRICE DEMANDS (Special .Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, March 29. The Argentine is reported to be demanding an increase of between 45 per cent, and 50 per cent, on the present rates for meat she sells to Britain. It is impossible to say how the present rates compare with the prices Britain is paying New Zealand and Australia, as the 1946 schedule of prices, on which the present Argentine rates are based, has never been disclosed, and has been altered by lump sum payments. The British authorities have no means of ascertaining what proportion of these payments has been passed on to the Argentine producers, and how much has been appropriated by the Argentine Government’s marketing agencies. , British reactions to the latest Argentine dema.nds are uncompromising. The Argentine has already been told that there is no prospect of Britain employing Marshall Aid dollars to pay for Argentine meat, and discussions are now centred upon a long list of goods which the Argentine is demanding from Britain as a condition of any new food agreement. This list includes many items in short supply, and a number for which the Argentine has not previously asked Britain. Reports from Buenos Airea suggest that the present negotiations are progressing slowly. Reports that the British meat ration may have to be further reduced, unless there is an early and successful end to the Buenos Aires negotiations, are gaining currency. The British corned beef reserve has been severely depleted by the heavy levies made upon it to sustain the present ration, and unless substantial replacements are quickly available, a further cut reducing the total ration to 8d a week, is regarded as probable. Even if an agreement is reached, and Argentine supplies are not further interrupted, it is unlikely that the Argentine will be able to maintain deliveries on their previous scale.