Big boost for beef

Press, 9 June 1978, Page 1

Big boost for beef

New Zealand is expected to sell an extra SSOM worth of beef to the United States this year, because of an increase in the American import quota. President Carter, bucking Congressional and farmer opposition, is expected today to announce permission for extra beef imports by the United States from foreign suppliers. NZPA reports from Washington. Most of the additional beef will come from New Zealand and Australia, the only nations with substantial surpluses available for export. President Carter is expected to make the announcement as part of his

drive to hold sharply rising meat prices. The additional quota is particularly valuable to New Zealand. Japan this week bought cow beef at 78c a kg, compared with recent American purchases at 220 c. The United States will renegotiate “voluntary restraint” agreements with suppliers to accept an additional 200 M pounds of beef over the balance of 1978. New Zealand, based on its historic market share of 21 per cent of the market, would get 42M lb of the additional imports, boosting its 1978 exports from 272.6 M lb to a record 314 M lb. But because of expected shortfalls in Central American countries, it

is expected that New Zealand will be able to send even more. Trade sources in Washington say that the higher quotas probably will lower import prices for a while, but that these are likely to climb again. New Zealand is believed to have sufficient beef stocks in cold storage to meet American requirements but once that is shipped little will remain. Mr Richard McDougal, president of the National Cattlemen’s Association, said that the planned extra imports would lower retail prices of hamburgers no more than a cent or two, but would discourage cattlemen from rebuilding herds.