British Chain-store Head On N.Z. Meat Prospects

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30065, 25 February 1963, Page 10

British Chain-store Head On N.Z. Meat Prospects

There was no doubt that Britain could take more New Zealand lamb over a period of years, provided Britain’s standard of living and population continued to increase, said Lord Sainsbury in Christchurch during the week-end. Lord Sainsbury is head of a grocery chain which is the largest direct seller of New Zealand meat and dairy products in Britain.

He said that, in addition to these provisos, one also had to assume that the British Government was not going to encourage, by some form of subsidy, over-pro-duction of British lamb.

At present, said Lord Sainsbury, the British Government professed to be alarmed at the size—more than £3oom—of the agricultural subsidies paid to British farmers. He said there were constant assurances that a limit would be put on these subsidies. Packaged Lamb Cute

Asked about the prospects of selling packaged lamb cuts in Britain, Lord Sainsbury said there was nothing new in this idea. “Our organisation, which is developing large self-service stores throughout the country, already sells packaged meat,” he said. The main question was in determining just where the package preparation should be done —in the retail store, centrally at a point in Britain, or at a New Zealand freezing works.

Technical difficulties and cost factors were involved, said Lord Sainsbury. He thought the most satisfactory method would be for the

packaging to be done at a central point in Britain rather than at the point of sale. When asked why his organisation had been reported as showing a preference for Canterbury lamb. Lord Sainsbury said that Canterbury was a regular source of supply and was one of the best lamb-producing districts in the world.

Lord Sainsbury said that the failure of the Common Market talks uhdoubtedly presented greater opportunities for' increasing Commonwealth trade.

Lord Sainsbury said that he expected an announcement to be made in the House of Commons today that the British quota for imported butter would be increased by 5 per cent. Last year Lord Sainsbury’s organisation bought more than £6jm worth of New Zealand meat and dairy produce. The firms’ share of the total New Zealand exports to Britain was 6.1 per cent, of the meat, 3.7 per cent, of the butter and 4.7 per cent, of the cheese. “We expect this sum to go up and up annually," he s-id. ‘‘We have 260 stores and are increasing this number, so that the more shops we open mean the more opportunity to sell your produce.” This is Lord Sainsbury’s first visit to New Zealand. He is on a winter holiday, during which he is discussing problems with the leaders of the dairy industry and the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company, Ltd., with which his organisation has had a long association. He will be in Christchurch for five days.