Lamb schedule drop declared a breach

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32460, 21 November 1970, Page 16

Lamb schedule drop declared a breach

The chairman of the meat and wool section of North Canterbury Federated Farmers (Mr A. F. Wright), has sent a telegram to the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Carter), making an official complaint that the 0.5 c per lb reduction in the export lamb schedule to cover the increase in killing charges, which came into force last Monday, is in breach of the Government price-freeze regulations'.

The regulations became effective from Thursday ot loct wppk Mr Carter has replied to Mr Wright that he is already giving consideration to representations from the Meat Board on this matter. In his telegram to the minister Mr Wright said that the statement in “The Press” about the schedule for the current week had given clear indication that 0.5 c per lb of the drop in price was attributable to the increase in the killing charge. As this was after the date on which the Government’s new regulations came into effect, and the Government had also given a lead in that it did not intend to enforce in the meantime price rises that it had announced, such as railway charges, he had to assume that the freezing companies would follow the Government’s lead. The companies might argue that their earlier announcement of increases in killing charges protected them from the price freeze, but the publicity surrounding the alteration in the schedule at the end of last week clearly indicated that the new charges had definitely not been in force prior to the new controls. Earlier request Producers he said, would appreciate it if the Government, during the two months of the freeze, would study the request made earlier in the month for it to carry the extra freezing .charges, as

farmers were neither prepared nor capable of accepting them in the light of the current economic situation facing their industry. The general manager of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, Mr R. W. Cleland, said last evening: “We cannot accept retrospective legislation.” There were increasing costs as everyone knew and there were variations in returns from by-products. The best investment that the New Zealand farmer had was a progressive and virile profitmaking freezing industry. If returns to shareholders offreezing companies fell below the general level of investment income the industry could not develop. The chairman of the South Island Freezing Companies’ Association, Mr J. A. G. Fulton, said that the extra charges were vital to the well-being of the industry, which could not absorb a freeze on its charges. If it was forced to forgo an increase now, it would have to make it up later on. Mr Wright added that the woolbrokers, in announcing new charges recently, had indicated that they would become effective from November 25. “Farmers will assume that these charges will also be deferred.” The general manager of the New Zealand Woolbrokers’ Association, Mr N. O. Thomas, said last evening that this was at present being looked into.