MARKETING OF N.Z. MEAT

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26484, 27 July 1951, Page 3

MARKETING OF N.Z. MEAT

SUGGESTED BUYING OF BRITISH AGENCY REASONS EXPLAINED BY BOARD (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, July 26. The New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board fears that when a free market for meat is restored in Britain it will more than ever before be under the control of large vested interests. This fear, according to the board’s annual report, has led it to consider the purchase of a wholesale meat distributing agency in Britain. Before the war the report said, there were about 60 firms importing meat into the United Kingdom, and more than 1000 engaged in the distribution of both locally, killed and imported meat. Only a small number of these firms, however, handled. New Zealand meat. Since the war all imported meat had been handled by an organisation set up by the 60 importing firms at the request of the Ministry of Food. The wholesalers, also at the Ministry’s request, had formed themselves into eight regional supply associations. The present position, as the board saw it, was that as a result of this amalgamation and control, meat importers and wholesale distributors had ceased to function as individual firms in the matter of distribution. Their staffs were working for the Government or had found positions outside the trade, and apparently no pew staff was being trained to carry on such highly specialised business if it should be restored to a pre-war basis. This position particularly affected the smaller concerns, as they had no other activities in which to keep their staffs usefully employed. The larger companies were therefore in a much better position to resume normal trading. There was little doubt that they would eventually be in a more dominating position than they were before the war.

Such circumstances would detrimentally,. affect those New Zealand companies and co-operatives which had to find an outlet for their meat, would prejudice the “open door” position, and generally lead to a reduction of competition in New Zealand. The board had a policy of checking further overseas control of New Zealand’s meat trade. The position of its proposal to purchase the controlling interest in a wholesale distributing agency in Britain was that, without making any commitments, it had received the draft of a suggested agreement with five New Zealand owned companies, which it would consider in conjunction with its solicitors. Neither this nor any other agreement would be completed however, until its basic proposals had the approval of the board’s electoral committee, Federated Farmers, and the Government.