Boner Beef Boom

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32020, 21 June 1969, Page 9

Boner Beef Boom

While there is talk in the United States about restricting New Zealand lamb imports and of even further curtailing beef imports by subtracting lamb imports from beef imports, prices for export beef in New Zealand have been climbing. This is particularly so for boner beef, greatly valued by the manufacturing trade in the United States for making such commodities as hamburgers.

Prices for boner cattle are now at very high levels. Since March 3 when the basis of cattle payments was adjusted to exclude from the carcase kidneys, kidney fat and channelfat, boner bull prices have jumped by $3.10 to $3.65 a 1001 b, and for boner cow, ox and heifer beef by $3.15 (these are the movements as compared with the schedule operating this week). All other categories of beef have also shown a rise over this period, but of a more modest nature.

meat basis, boner bull beef prices are now 10c per lb higher than at the same time last year and boner cow 6c to 7c per lb higher. But for anything that had to go outside the United States, he said, there was a drastic drop on these levels. Was the sharp improvement caused by by a meat shortage in the United States? an industry spokesman was asked. He referred to a recent statement by Mr W. J. Polson, a member of the Meat Board, who was quoted as saying that the market in the United States for New Zealand’s red meat had never been better and it might improve even more because the Americans were starting to understand that there was going to be a shortage of meat in the future.

The gains are based on the American market, where an industry spokesman said that since March 3 there had been rises in the net meat prices for boner cow beef of 10c a lb and for boner bull of 6c a lb.

At the same time, on a bare