Forecast 'highlights disaster potential’

Press, 12 August 1985, Page 14

Forecast 'highlights disaster potential’

“Recent predictions by the Meat and Wool Boards’ economic service of a 32 per cent decrease in average sheep and beef net farm incomes next season highlight the potentially disastrous situation facing the gastoral industry,” said Mr ruce Anderson, chairman of the meat and wool section of Federated Farmers. The outlook was particularly grim for those farmers already struggling to pay high interest rates and to farm through climatic adversity, he said. “This severe downturn will follow a year of high production and reasonable income. Indications are that lower productivity, withdrawal of Government support in many areas, and market uncertainty will combine to depress farmers’

real net incomes below the level of that received after the first oil crisis in 1974- . 75.” Many factors influencing net incomes next year might be beyond the control of farmers, he said. “We can only impress on the Government the need to ensure that the necessary economic policies are implemented to bring down inflation and reduce interest rates accordingly. We can only watch the effect that the firming New Zealand dollar is having on the market for our traded commodities,” Mr Anderson said. One cost could be firmly controlled, he said. The meat companies had an absolute responsibilitiy to contain killing and processing charges for the coming season.

“We were very disapCointed when during this ist season, in spite of large increases in throughput, and good by-product returns, many companies elected to increase their charges. This was quite unwarranted considering the large profits subsequently announced by many companies recently.” Mr Anderson said it was in the interests of everyone concerned that the meatprocessing industry keep its coSts low and competitive. “It is incumbent upon unions to ensure their future jobs by not pressing for excessive wage demands in the coming award rounds. Equally, soft agreements by employers will only exacerbate the pressures faced by the industry as a whole,” he said.