Spotlight On Beef Market

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30442, 16 May 1964, Page 8

Spotlight On Beef Market

REFERRING to the demand ■ Lil for beef in Europe and the expansion of imports, Professor B. P. Philpott, professor of agricultural economics at Lincoln College, told farmers at a field day at Cheviot this week “we may be witnessing in Europe evidence of a fairly important structural situation characteristic of rapid industrialisation and economic growth—of demand expanding too rapidly for domestic supply at reasonable price levels leading inevitably to more liberal import policies. “Moreover, industrialisation and rising incomes tend to suck labour off the land (as we know only too well in New Zealand) and as long as this continues agricultural self-sufficiency in Europe is just a mirage.”

Of the pressure of cattlemen in the United States for tougher restrictions on the imports of beef from Australia and New Zealand and the hearing of the Tariff Commission, Professor Philpott said that whatever the ver-

diet he felt personally it would be in favour of liberal trading policies—there was the fact that the United States beef cattle production cycle, which had been in existence for 30 years now, was about to enter a downward phase and bring some hardening of beef prices in the United States.

“On all counts, therefore, there are compelling reasons for believing that beef faces a good future for the next five years or so.” Noting that higher beef prices in the United Kingdom had had quite an effect on lamb prices, Professor Philpott said that New Zealand might in future be facing rather better lamb prices than had been anticipated, but “we would not want to be too sanguine about this for we are still faced with the imponderables of British agricultural policy . . .” In selling mutton to Japan New Zealand was in a very favourable position. This year this country had not been able to' satisfy the demand, and ,he was certain that this would continue.