Col. Watson slates export incentives

Press, 11 May 1984, Page 9

Col. Watson slates export incentives

PA Wellington Colyer Watson, the Well-ington-based processor and exporter of animal by-pro-ducts which recently took over Auckland-based tanner, W. Sutherland and Company, wants to see export incentives for hides abolished immediately.

The managing director, Mr David Wright, told a press briefing here yesterday that any suggestion that hide exporters benefited from the 4.2 per cent incentive was “patent nonsense.” He said that the export incentive was taken into account in reaching the purchase price the tanner paid for the raw hide.

“The farmer is getting the export incentive, not companies like Colyer Watson,” he said. “It’s just another subsidy to the farming industry.” Mr Wright, who was backed in his comments by Colyer Watson’s chairman (Mr Clifford Pearce) and the new Sutherland chairman

(Mr Arthur Avis) also called for the abolition of excessive subsidies on sheepmeat production, and for “errant” exporters to give New Zealand tanners priority in the purchase of hides. He said that a shortage of hides of the right quality and weight was a major problem facing the New Zealand tanning industry, after a significant drop in beef production, and had resulted in imports from Australia.

“In addition not all supplies of unprocessed cattle hides are ensuring that the needs of New Zealand tanners are being met before exporting,” he said. “It is an attitude which is certainly not held by Colyer Watson, whose policy has been and remains to meet the needs of the New Zealand industry before exports.” New Zealand tanners were prepared to pay export prices for quality hides, which some companies pre-

ferred to export because of the export incentives.

The principal factor in the decline in beef production was the Government policy of subsidising sheepmeat production, which was leading farmers away from cattle. Mr Pearce said that an extraordinary general meeting to increase authorised capital from $5 million to $7.5 million, and to issue a $1.6 million secured convertible note to the Development Finance Corporation, would be held in June. The meeting would have been held yesterday but was postponed because of a technicality concerning the period of notice of the meeting.