Some Beef Prices Expected To Rise

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30478, 27 June 1964, Page 1

Some Beef Prices Expected To Rise

Prices of some lines of beef were expected to rise by about 4d per lb in Christchurch butchers’ shops from July till the end of September, the president of the Canterbury Meat Retailers’ Association (Mr B. M. Owens) said yesterday.

The price rise would most likely send retail rump steak prices up 4d per lb to 4s lOd per lb. Sirloin beef prices were expected to rise from 3s 6d per lb to 3s lOd per lb. Mr Owens said a shortage of beef cattle throughout the South Island was the cause of the expected retail price rise. “At the moment cattle prices are rising each week,” he said. “The schedule moved up again last week. It is generally moving up weekly by about 5s to 10s per 1001 b. “At present the price is £7 10s for 1001 b. Certainly it will reach £lO or more per 1001 b this year." Mr Owens said the evidence was that the prices the trade would have to pay for beef would make it one of the worst periods if. had ever known. “It will be even worse than last year for the supply of stock. They are bringing cattle in from the West Coast and from down south, but they cannot get sufficient quality cattle to meet the needs of the trade. They are not coming into Addington market.” He said that Christchurch butchers tried to carry the cattle price increases as much

as possible during the dearer period of the year.’ This time, however, there was such a shortage and such a sharp increase that the trade could not carry the cattle price increases any longer. “The retail prices for beef will have to move upwards and then come down when the cattle price moves down.” Asked what caused the cattle shortage in the South Island, Mr Owens said: “A lot of the trouble is that so much beef is being exported. Big beef exports to the United States are certainly a factor.” Butchers in Auckland and Dunedin are raising their meat prices by id per lb. Mr Owens said that veal, pork and mutton prices were not likely to rise in Christchurch.