THE CONTROL OF THE MEAT TRUST

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 28, 27 October 1917, Page 6

THE CONTROL OF THE MEAT TRUST

' Sir,—Tho (fisou6sion which has just taken , place m l'arliauiont upon tho iibovo subject seems to have gone wido of the most important point Regulations at this end cannot bo effected without lmpenal' co-operation, and that cannot ho obtained unless tho .Imperial Government fully realise what is occurring, not only Jierc, but at Home. What the debate did ' mot reveal was that the inflation of prices . 'Was largely duo to the mistaken method* of tho control of our meat at tho other end. Tho fact is that the trust is actually using our meat to put its own on tho market at highei; prices, lietailors are compelled in numberless cases to take 'American meat in order to obtain" a small : portion of colonial, - because ' American interests are handling our released lamb. , Tho result is that the maximum wholesale price of our meat, for which the i New Zealand farmer is p?id from sd. to ... sfd. per lb., lias been actually fixed by Lord Rhondda, Imperial Food Controller, , at Hid. per lb. Here is a table from tho Imperial Meat Order of August last:— Beof 'and Y«al, price, per stone; - 3Torae? killod. Imported. " OaroasS. Hinders.. Forccirs. 1117. c H c,l • „ .1

au. 6. a. b. u. a. d. Sept. 8 8 8 4 7 0 ' Oct. ..,„..,, 8 4 '80 68 Nov. . ( ; j8 0 7 8 6 4 Deo. .....jft 8 0 78. 64 • ism. ■ iJan. 7,-4 7 0 58 Kotton & Lamb, Pork, Wioo por atone. per stone. Some- Im- Home- Imkilled, portod. killed, ported. .'.. Garoass. Oaroass. Carcass. Carcass. '■•'■iptti '■ s. d. s.d. s . <t. s. d. .ygest,-..,, 8 8 7 8 ' 5 6 8 6. s.Oot, »!( « B 7. 8 9 6 8 6 -.iW6*i '.I 8-8 7,8 H 8 6 .- Bed. r.f IS 7 8 9 6 8 6 : -i JSIB, ■ fr.OMJ, ... 8 6 .7 6 9 6 8 6 -asoertainina weight.-the offals aro to ha excluded. A stone of meal ia 81bs. '\. ,iWiU you permit me, air, to review the "■Jjositidn ehortly, in order to show how :',Jhia extraordinary state of affairs has jibeen reached, for I maintain it is an position when the ■ liu"perial authorities/ as long ago as Febru- ' aiy, 1915. had decided th.at id. per lb. ' ,>as a sufficient margin between the New " '.iZealand prioe and- English wholesale U-prico. "■ In February, 1915, arrangements wero Tmade between the Board .of Trade, and , ; Jhe New Zealand Government that tho 'latter should secure on behalf of tho Im, ■I'perial Government all'frozen beef, mutJfton, end lamb then iu store or produced •at the freezing works during the continuance of war and available for export.. It was explained that the Imperial X3overnment proposed to placoall meat ■not required for the Allied Forces on the market, through ordinary channels and on terms which v/ill prevent inflated ' prioes to the civil' population. . Similar • arrangements were made with Australian ■, .Government. Seeing the chance of 'helping the Homo Country, both as regards troops and the public, aiid at tho .same-time having a fair price for -their : meat, all assistance was readily given U the producers and works, and on March 3 arrangements wore set going. . Tho prices arranged with tho Imperial authorities wore on the market parity of the tune. The.following were the prices arranged:—

F. 0.8. i prices,' slaughtered on and alter March, Description. ' d wethers, first quality, 721b. & under U .. first quality, over 721b 4J » 6ccond quality (including quarters and sides) ..•. 4j ...Jiwes, first quality, Tab. and under 4 „ first quality, over 721b. . . 33 . . ■• second quality :. " 31 liamb, specially prime and Canterbury quality, 4Mb. and under 5j • „ first quality, 421b. and under 6A ■■ first quality, over 421b bj 11 .second quality (including quarters and 6ides) 53 Beef, prime ox 41 •-:.„ -second and heifer .'...'....." 41 ~ boning and quarters '. 4 . „ .. cow, frrime 41 '„ cow, second 4 i, boneless „ !"!!".'"!!' 5 .....•■■(Odd-hindquarters, id. ' above ."'and. odd forcquartcrs, 3d. below r . • . schedule prices.) Hutton, legs 51 „ shoulders ..............,....' 41 .-•" ~ loins ;,„"_'_",■ 41 1, haunches ...'......'....'...... 6 _--lii addition to this it was arranged that storage should be paid as follows :- ;.••:■ Q.) In the case of meat in store no storage to be paid until one month ofter .the inception of the schome, after which date the rate to be \d. per pound per month or portion of a month. /"" (2; In respect to meat slaughtered subseqnent to this schemo coming, into oner. -ation, no storage to be payable until after one month has expired, when the , rate would bo Jd.per pound per calendar month or any portion of a month; but ;■_., the total storage for any period should not exceed gd. per pound. For meat is chambers prior to March 1 1915 nn allowance of j|d. per pound to bo made to cover storage snd other incidental •expenses. • Tor the month of February, 1915, •Wholesale prices at Home ruled:— '.'., Fob. 5.

.Canterburymother., M« % "NoAvailable ''te^^S 0 "' 64 - 64 6? Not aval aMo Canterbury wethers, 64-72 &\ Sot available -«. • ■ Feb. 5. 12. 19 26 Aortb, ißland— d, d <i' j • {Mooted,, «■« 6 7-16 68 611-16 S4 • gost; «#, 5J 611-16 613-16 61 Ewes, 48-64 5 6} Sj 6 5 7 . 16 . Lambs w era n o t available. ' fe Doted ' tUat %> r wethers, first -qualrty, 4Jd.,was to be paid in New Zealand, and storage, say, id. per pound making a total of 4£d. If wotaYo nn average for February, we get, say, skl ■per pound, consequently this would! ehow • a working balance of Id. pcr pound. S. 0 ?*!, n 8 lnto consideration tho fact that the- producer was satisfied and undoubtedly went out to help, anticipating that his meat would bo used for the benefit of Allied troops and public, and that the prices were based on the market parity at that., time, „■«., sjd. (»,£■ , My is.the present price ruling? following the inflation of prices a little . f,llt ™r, we_find that from June to De'°bo t Government prices average

". ■' for lb. • Wethers, first quality 7 Ewes ? Tl. qu ? lily -•• ::::::::;:::: 8 --Lamb, first grado <p,c Ifi „ second grade ZZZZ 7? ■-and. from' January to Decßmbc'r, lflis about:— ' ' Per lb. Wethers, first quality J »' 6 ., 6 „ second quality ' cj Ewes " S, Lamb, first qualitv 91 „ seoond quality ZZZ 9 3-16 ~«; Th 1 d j£! a , tis ? action of the Producers at the Australasian end at this disparity induced the Imperial authorities late last year to grant a Jd. advance on m„t- ■' ™?-, an • amba,ld 'Id- on beef, so that tho ~.1917 prices rose 111 Febriiarv to tlio fol. ...lowing:— ' ' • ■ . I'orlb. Wethers, first quality 8J ~ second quality "" g' Lwcs 3? Lambs, first grade ZZZZZ 10 ■ „ second grade 10 Now the maximum wholesale price, as I have shown, has been fixed by tho Food Controller at ll{d., but if we take the actual figures ruling before tho last mail left Jlemo we still find an enormous rnd unaccountable margin, thus:— •' English . . Now (wliolcHealnnd. sate). JiarL-in <!• d. d. Wethers (average ' price) 6J 83 33 Lwes At 8i Zl Lamb' 63 10 ' 33 If an average of Id. storage is deducted from these figures, we commenco with a. working margin, of -3d. per lb., which has increased to 3Jd. per pound (<> ;Hd. per pound. This, in spite of the f«et that it wis explained that the Imperial Government's idea was (0 place all meat not required by the Allied Forces on lln>. market to prevent inflated prices. Thcru was not an difficulty in doing this, rnd yet the margin of profit (0 t)iu wholeralers has been allowed !o gradually inI crease, for it ;ennnot/bo assumed, as lias I been suggested,by tlio High Com in is. ! sioner, that' increased freights and ! chai'g'.v .-in; rc;p;-i:.'.ib!e for (his enormous - advance. I Now tho shipments of meat (0 the Unit-} pi Kingdom in 19IC were;-- 1

- * v "*> Aew Zealand and Australian mutton and 1amb:—6,748,171 carcasses. Argentmo mutton and 1am1>:—1,696,470 carcasses.

1!: cannot bo said, therefore, that the trust's large'control of foreign meat lias alone boon responsible, for the inflated prices. Undoubtedly it lias been their control of quantities of released meal; of ours that lias enabled them to do so.

The Australian season lias n very poor one, and the bulk of the imported mutton and lamb was New Zealand. The Imperial Government, Mr. Massey ha» assured ns, is not making a profit ou our meat; then who is? The answer is obvious. If, then, wo are to fight the trust, the first business of our vjovornmont is to obtain the sympathetic cooperation of tho Imperial authorities and begiu at the other end. It will then become impossible for tho Americans to ge„ 115 d. per pound from the letnil butchers, not only for their own meat, but for ours, while our prices are ei-n----trolled in the way I have pointed cut. Apologising for 'the length of this -letter,—l um, etc,, W. J. POI.SON. October 25.