“Exporters carried levy”

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32745, 23 October 1971, Page 1

“Exporters carried levy”

Farmers who sold lambs to exporters in the last export killing season did not stand the levy on imports into Britain which came into force on July 1. This was made clear last evening by the general manager of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, Ltd (Mr W. M. Cleland). It was the exporters who had had to carry the cost of the levy, he said.

The levy of Id per . lb (,9c in New Zealand currency) which came into force on July 1, did not fall on the New Zealand farmer, Mr Cleland said. This was because all the lambs had been bought, and no allowance had been made for the levy, as exporters had understood that both the Government and Meat Board had been assured by the British Government that the levy would fall on the buyer in the United Kingdom. In fact, the levy had fallen on the exporters who had

bought the stock—and they had been carrying.it on lambs landed in Britain since July 1. The opening schedule of payments for the new season, announced earlier this; month, while taking account of the initial .9c per lb levy, did not provide for the additional charge which would be made on ships whose documents were not cleared through customs in the United Kingdom before December 31. Unless exporters were careful to provide for this in re-

lation to projected shipping arrivals, they could again be carrying the additional .9c per lb, Mr Cleland said. This was, of course, assuming that the New Zealand Government was unsuccessful in its move to have the imposition of the second Id (.9c) per lb abandoned or delayed. Questioned about the Meat Board’s intention to support the lamb market, Mr Cleland said that Meat Exporters’ Council would meet the board on Wednesday, when

it was expected that the board would advise exporters as to the way in which it proposed to exercise its powers under the new legislation enabling it to market lamb in developed markets. “SITUATION DIFFICULT’ “At present, we do not know the board’s intentions,” Mr Cleland said.

“From the exporters’ point of view, the situation at the present time is particularly difficult, because we have already been killing stock for export for some time, and neither we nor our clients yet know what will be the amount to be paid to them,” Mr Cleland said. “We sincerely trust that on Wednesday the Meat Board can firmily declare its requirements in. regard to minimum payments and the manner in which these payments are to be dispensed,” Mr Cleland said.