N.Z. warned about E.E.C. beef surplus

Press, 14 October 1985, Page 40

N.Z. warned about E.E.C. beef surplus

Wellington reporter

The growing mountain of agricultural surpluses in Europe is worsening the already grim outlook for the incomes of sheep and beef farmers in New Zealand.

This is shown by figures given by the Opposition spokesman on agriculture, Mr Denis Marshall (Nat., Rangitikei).

The dramatic growth in stocks of E.E.C. intervention beef threatened New Zealand’s economic survival in world markets in which mutton and beef were already at desperately low prices, Mr Marshall said. . Figures in the authoritative journal, “Agra Europe,” showed that from June 1984 to June 1985 stocks of European intervention beef rose from 360,000 tonnes to 716,000 tonnes. By August 1985, stocks stood at 760,000 tonnes and could reach a million tonnes, Mr Marshall said.

In spite of repeated cuts in selling prices, sales from this intervention stockpile had been limited. Therefore, those huge intervention stocks would continue to

threaten world markets as Brussels tried to reduce its beef mountain.

As this could be done only by selling at very low prices on the world market, New Zealand beef sales would be placed at a considerable disadvantage, as would its KJtential to sell mutton into orth Africa and the Middle East, Mr Marshall said. Any thoughts of expanding grain production economically into the world export markets needed to be tempered by the fact that by 1992 the E.E.C. would not only be producing 40 per

cent more grain than in 1985, but would be stockpiling it in huge amounts. Independent grain market experts suggested an end-of-season carryover of nearly 100 million tonnes in 1992, Mr Marshall said. That was about 5% times the normal season-to-season stock of the early 1980 s. The Minister of Overseas Trade, Mr Moore, had to make strong representations in Europe to get the E.E.C. to address the problem of the surpluses produced by its Common Agricultural Policy, Mr Marshall said.