Meat traders meet in Wellington

Press, 6 November 1984, Page 2

Meat traders meet in Wellington

Wellington reporter Representatives of meat producers in Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay met in Wellington yesterday. Between them, they represent 45 per cent of the world beef trade and 85 per cent of the world sheepmeat trade. This is the eighth meeting of the Southern Hemisphere Meat Producers’ Conference, and the first time it has been held in New Zealand. The four ' countries account for about 10 per cent of the world beef production and about 20 per cent of the sheepmeat production. . Delegates were welcomed by the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Moyle. He said provisional fjgures showed that total cattle numbers in New Zealand at June this year had recovered to the 7.9 million head recorded in 1982. The Ministry of Agriculture predicted that there would be another increase in the next year. Sheep numbers had stabilised at 70.3 million, Mr Moyle said. But the rise in the level of protectionism around the world continued to be of concern.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation had estimated that if the level of protection that* had existed on world beef production had been reduced by half, there could have been a 73 per cent increase in trade and 16 per cent increase in world price, he said. Beef production and export earnings for the four countries at the conference would have been increased. While farm incomes in the highly protected countries would, have been lower, this would have been more than offset by an improvement in benefits to their consumers, Mr Moyle said. The study had concluded that there would have been an over-all gain for both importing and exporting countries. : Although, the four countries competed with each other, he said, they did have a common interest in promoting sales prospects for meat and meat products. With margins being squeezed, and returns to producers under pressure, ways of co-operating in Third World markets had to be found, to, avoid the unnecessary price-cutting which resulted in reduced returns to everyone.