NX’s sheepmeat move right one, says Mr Begg

Press, 21 August 1984, Page 3

NX’s sheepmeat move right one, says Mr Begg

PA Wellington The European Economic Community would have limited the amount and price of New Zealand lamb and mutton if an open market had continued, said the chairman of the Meat Board, Mr Adam Begg, yesterday. “I am more convinced than ever about the decision we have taken in the United Kingdom market over the last year,” Mr Begg told the Meat and Wool Boards’ committee. "There is no doubt in my mind that if we had stood back and allowed an open market situation to exist we would now be facing a reduced voluntary restraint agreement tonnage and there would also be a minimum import price scheme,” he said. Mr Begg said the E.E.C. already ran minimum import price schemes for cheese, raisins, and cereals,

as well as a “sluice gate” system for pigmeat, which could easily be used as a model for lamb. New Zealand could be sure that if lamb and mutton prices were set under such a scheme they would not be based on a consideration of its welfare, he said. “So we have a very simple choice: either we maintain price stability in the E.E.C. or have officials in Brussels set them for us,” said Mr Begg. “As far as the board is concerned the only sensible course is to adapt to the realities of trading with the E.E.C. and develop a marketing system to cope with them.” The realties of the marketplace were that New Zealand lamb was being assaulted on several fronts, he said. In Western countries all red meat was under attack from health authorities, and

the board had to play a positive role in combating this damaging publicity. Promotional efforts next year would reflect this. The world demand was for leaner meat but New Zealand was producing about 51 per cent fatter P grade lambs compared with 34 per cent leaner Y lambs, Mr Begg said. As a result it was missing sales in markets such as Greece, Italy, and the Middle East. A better balance would be the other way round, with 35 per cent fatter P grade lambs and about 60 per cent leaner Y grades. New Zealand meat was also attacked by agricultural protectionism which, in the E.E.C.’s case, had distorted the marketplace and helped push United Kingdom production up 22 per, cent over, the last 10 years, Mr Begg said. An even greater threat to

beef and mutton exports was heavily subsidised E.E.C. beef. This year the E.E.C. would export about 800,000 tonnes of beef, which was subsidised to sell about SUSB6O a tonne. However, if New Zealand sold mutton at this price in Saudi Arabia, for example, it would get back only SNZB2O a tonne and would lose $l3O a tonne, he said. There was also competition from white meats which were gaining an increasing share of meat consumption in all markets. The board was dealing with these marketplace realities in several ways, said Mr Begg. In the United Kingdom it had developed a stable pricing policy. In Western Europe, except Greece, growth would be in further processed meat handled by meat companies under the buy-back scheme, he said.