New Beef Markets “Urgently Needed”

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31645, 3 April 1968, Page 14

New Beef Markets “Urgently Needed”

New Zealand’should expand its production of beef for export and as rapidly as possible develop new markets for beef throughout the world because of uncertainties in the United States and United Kingdom markets, Mr W. J. Polson, a member of the Meat Board, told farmers attending the Canterbury export-beef competition yesterday.

Mr Polson said he wondered whether New Zealand producers realised how the value of cotton in the United States, or a wheat or dairy product surplus, could affect this country’s economy. When he was in Georgia two months ago, Mr Polson said, the president of the cattlemen’s association (Dr J. Tuttle) told him that Georgia was turning from cotton to beef production. Alabama and Louisiana were also going over to beef production, and New Zealand could fit into these states many times. Dr Tuttle said that there was already a surplus of range cattle in the United States.

In New Zealand recently Mr W. House, president of the United States Cattlemen’s Association, had spoken about attempts to get American cattlemen to limit the size of herds in the interests of holding prices.

Mr Polson said that overproduction of grain provided cheap grain for feeding of pigs and cattle in feedlots, and production of synthetic milk and surplus butter production forced fanners to grow more grain and to turn their units into feedlots. All this tended to hold down and to lower domestic prices for beef in the United States. If the domestic price for beef fell there would be agitation for quotas, or even total prohibition of imports of Australian, Irish and New Zealand beef.

Last year 70 senators out of 100 had wanted more stringent quotas, but this had been vetoed by President Johnson. Although President Johnson was a Texas cattleman, his party depended on the urban voter. To hold the price of hamburgers for the working people would be a feather in the party’s cap. but to do that cheap grinding beef was needed.

Last year Australia had sent 189.000 tons of beef to the United States, Ireland 36,000 tons and New Zealand 76,600 tons. If New Zealand meat was excluded from the United States it might be pushed on to the United Kingdom market, with surplus beef from other sources, too, but what would be the value of New Zealand lamb in such circumstances?

Development of new markets for beef as rapidly as possible throughout the world was urgently needed. It had also to be remembered that this country’s right of unrestricted, dutyfree entry for meat into the United Kingdom expires in 1972.

Mr P. T. Norman, general manager in New Zealand of Thomas Borthwick and Sons, said they were hopeful that they would continue to get beef into the United States. It would be important to the United States that its allies in the Pacific should be prosperous.