Beef price cuts anger farmers

Press, 10 March 1982, Page 1

Beef price cuts anger farmers

The Government is. reneging on an undertaking, to guarantee the minimum price of beef cattle- to farmers for two years by refusing to increase the supplementary payments in the South Island, according to the chairman of the meat and wool section of North Canterbury Federated Farmers, Mr E. W. Turrell;

Mr Turrell said yesterday that the Government’s commitment was being broken now that South Island .beef exporting companies had reduced their export schedule payments for beef between 8c and 14c a kilogram.

The Government should have agreed to the request by South Island meat companies to increase the supplements payable on beef, Mr Turrell said.

Now that the companies had been forced to reduce their schedule payments, the Government must increase the supplements to honour its commitment to provide a minimum price on beef cattle for two years. "Farmers have budgeted on this minimum price and now it appears they are not going to get it,” Mr Turrell said. He also took issue with the Minister of Agriculture (Mr

Maclntyre) when he suggested, that if farmers were not happy with - the beef schedule prices they should hold back stock from the freezing works. The. Minister' was obviously badly briefed on the feed situation in North Canterbury, where most farmers could not hold stock, Mr Turrell said. The Government has been supplementing up to 20c a kilogram on prime beef to bring the returns to the minimum for farmers.

Now that the companies exporting beef from the South Island have reduced their schedule contributions, farmers are getting less than the Government minimum. The chairman oi Federated Farmers Dominion meat and wool section, Mr TimothyPlummer, said yesterday that the Government had not stuck by its commitment to a fixed S.M.P. for the season,, the Press Association reported. The office of the Minister of Agriculture said yesterday that any reports of a review of the decision not to compensate South Island beef farmers for high processing costs at South Island freezing works were unfounded, ac- • cording to the , Wellington reporter of “The Press.”

The Government was standing by its earlier statement that South Island freezing companies had excess capacity, and that an increase in S-M.P.s -would amount to a subsidy, said Mr Maclntyre’s press officer, Mr C. C. McKenzie. The' later’ drop in export beef schedule prices by South Island beef exporting companies did nothing to change the Government’s mind. An extension of S.M.P.. payments to compensate for' the drop would cost the taxpayer $l3 million, the office said. ;

To arguments that the' Government was reneging on' earlier premises to guarantee its supplementary minimum price for two years, the office said the Government’s promise was to keep S.M.Ps at the same cash level, not to, make up the difference in freezing company costs. 1