THE MEAT TRADE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 182, 30 April 1941, Page 6

THE MEAT TRADE

A week ago the Federal Minister of Commerce announced that the British authorities had agreed to take a further 54,000 tons of Australian meat, this season, raising the aggregate from 144,000 to 198,000 tons. When this report was referred to the Minister of Marketing, Mr. Barclay said that negotiations were in train, and the Dominion could expect that its meat contract would be amended to provide for an increase in shipments, in keeping with that granted to the Commonwealth. He added that an important conference was being held in London on April 23, “to determine what foodstuffs, including meat and dairy produce, could be shipped by New Zealand. Since then, nothing has been heard of the matter and producers are anxiously awaiting a ministerial statement. An alteration of the contract on the basis suggested would mean an increase of about 60,000 tons in our meat exports for the current year, and that would improve the position considerably. It would remove the possibility of a. shortage of cool storage, and give the meat companies more time in which to prepare for the 1941-42 season, which is likely to be the most difficult period. The reduction?of the present estimated carry-over would improve the outlook, in that the Dominion would face the coming season with much less meat in store than was at first anticipated. The British authorities must have seen their way to supply the necessary shipping to Australia, and in that respect the Dominion must enjoy an advantage, for recent developments —the A'merican patrol system —have tended to lighten the burden of convoying freight across the worst portion of the Atlantic, whereas other routes may become even more dangerous. The Minister of Marketing appears to accept as an established custom a priority of the Commonwealth in making arrangements of this kind with the Mother Country, but on the basis of the trade in foodstuffs, surely the order,should be reversed? The New Zealand contracts were larger than those of Australia, but the adjustments, which must have brought great relief to producers, have been concluded with Canberra, while here nothing definite is known. Is there really an order of precedence, or a sort of time-lag, or is it that Australian Ministers have been more active in taking steps, or making representations, for the welfare of their primary producers? And just how long does Mr. Barclay expect this indefinite state of affairs to continue? A week has .passed since our neighbours were able to announce the completion of their negotiations, while in this country nothing has been heard of adjustments that would have an important bearing on a basic industry. The shipment of a further 60,000 tons of meat would still leave a large quantity in store, if killings only equal those of last season, but it would constitute a welcome contribution towards the solution of a very difficult problem.