Complaints to Japan on beef ‘effective’

Press, 28 November 1977, Page 14

Complaints to Japan on beef ‘effective’

NZPA Hong Kong The “forthright” complaints by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) and the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Taiboys) about Japanese beef import restrictions have had a considerable effect in Japan, the chairman of the Meat Board (Mr Charles Hilgendorf) believes. However, in an interview in Hong Kong, after an eight-day visit to Japan, Mr Hilgendorf said he doubted whether the ‘‘bee f-for-fish” trade linkage was the best method of obtaining better trade treatment from Japan over “the long term.”

Mr Hilgendorf said the important thing was that the forthright complaints by Mr Muldoon and Mr Taiboys had considerable effect.

“A lot of people think ‘Good old New Zealand’ for standing up to the Japanese over this issue. “I detect a weakening in their wish to protect their industry and it was probably necessary to use the fish argument to spell out the extent of dissatisfaction with the present import system. “But whether over the long term tying beef access to fishing is the best method of obtaining results I wouldn’t be too sure.”

The meat Board chairman was concerned by the Japanese use of a six-monthly quota system. He said he had been told that the Fukuda Government was thinking of adjusting a system under which exporters would know w.ien the first half-year quota was announced that the second six-monthly quota would not be less than that for the first period. This would be helpful in that exporters would at least know well in advance the minimum quantities required by Japan. Japanese officials also made it clear that they did not forsee any sudden slump in imports as had occurred three years ago. Mr Hilgendorf added that New Zealand’s case was being helped by the fact that “the whole world is getting at them” over restrictive import policies. During his stay in Tokyo Mr Hilgendorf had discussions with the Japanese Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (Mr Zenko Suzuki) and with officials of the International Trade Ministry and the agency responsible for meat imports, the L.I.P.C. Japan is now New Zealand’s third largest export market for lamb behind Britain and Iran. Mr Hilgendorf said lamb sales to Japan had been creeping up in a steady but unspectacular way. In the 12 months to the end of September this year New Zealand sold 15,020 tonnes of lamb to Japan and .27,384 tonnes to Iran.

This meant that Japan was taking 14.89 per cent of the lamb dispatched to markets outside of Britain while Iran was taking 27.14 per cent. Although a lot of

mutton had been sold to Russia recently he believed that in the long term Japan was New Zealand’s most reliable mutton buyer. There were some signs, he said, that South Korea might become a better mutton customer for New Zealand and he hoped that there would soon be evidence of higher sales to Seoul.

Any improved access for all beef exporters to the Japanese market would not remove a problem of New Zealand’s share of the quota being comparatively small.

The real reason for this a large and fast increase in Australian beef production. “These days only 40 per cent of Australian production is going to the United States compared with a previous figure of 70 per cent. This means she has to find quickly large alternative markets to the United States and to find them at almost any cost. “She has been selling heavily to Japan at prices lower than those New Zealand exporters have been able to obtain in other markets.

“The bright spot for us now is that the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation is limiting, through an export licence system, the quantities that Australian exporters can send to Japan. This appears to have already strengthened Japanese import prices and enabled New Zealand to compete in the market.”

Mr Hilgendorf, accompanied by a board member, Mr Norman Mcßae, also visited Japanese specialist beef breeders in the Kagoshima area.

The board chairman said that about 30 per cent of Japanese domestically produced beef was of a high quality specialised type and he told the producers of this meat there was no chance New Zealand would seek to compete with them. “The real agitation against increased beef imports has been coming from these specialist breeders and he wanted to assure them it is not our wish to ‘muck up’ the Japanese beef market.” Mr Hilgendorf said he had been impressed by the amount of money these breeders received for a “fat steer.” It was nine to 10 times the price a New Zaland farmer received. “The fact is, however, they need this high return to meet the high cost structure they face. In Hong Kong Mr Hilgendorf and Mr Mcßae met importers of New Zealand meat and discussed trade trends with Government officials.