Beef support cost $8.25M

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 12

Beef support cost $8.25M

PA . Wellington The Meat Board says the cost of support to beef export producers, since exporters lowered their payments in late March to the minimum levels established by the Meat Export Prices Committee, are estimated at $8.25 million. “This support has been given by the board in the f6rm of retrospective payments, the levels of which are determined on the basis of notional costings related to market prices, six weeks after the date of slaughter,” the board said. For stock slaughtered during the week ended May 24, no payments were neoessaiy for all prime cattle and bull grades. However, retro-. spective payments to exporters for other grades ranged from 7c to 17c a kilogram. “The cost of payments for the week is estimated at $560,000, the lowest level paid out since the scheme began for stock slaughtered since April 14,” the board siad. Of the payments to date the board said, more than two-thirds had

been required to support M (manufacturing) grade cattle. Slaughterings of such stock, particularly cull cows, had been relatively high since midApril, mainly because of delayed slaughterings after favourable weather early in the year.