THE VESTEY BEEF

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 57, 9 March 1922, Page 7

THE VESTEY BEEF

PROPOSAL TO BUY IT

NEW ZEALAND DECLINES AN offer:

(CNITIP PBESS ABSCCUTIOH.—COmiSBT.)

(AUSTRALIAN - N*TT ZEALAND CADLB ASSOCIATION.) i LONDON, 7th March.

The' Australian Press Association learns that the New Zealand Government has definitely refused Vestey's oiler. ■ While Australian lamb and mutton are selling well, the market -for Australasian frozen beef is still deplorable, beef being hardly saleable at 3£d. Mr. Edmund Jowett, Federal M.P. for Grampians, Victoria, interviewed, states that the chief causes of the beef clamp are the bad effect on the public mmd of the old stock and the relentless war being carried on by importers of Argentina beef, which is being sold below cost. Mr. Jowett believes that a quick remedy can be found, but it entails finding a large sum of money.

The Temedy' consiste of the acceptance of Vestey's offer to Telievo the British market of the whole of the old beef, amounting to 150,000 quarters, and selling the same at the best obtainable price on the Continent, for which Vestey's-de-•mand a bonus of £100.000. If this sum could be found, Mr.-Jowett believes it would turn out a, profitable investment for Australia in the? long run. He is of the opinion that the farmers and people of Australia ought to be made aware of the precise situation before the Government breaks off the negotiations with Vestey's.

Mr. Jowett cays that Australian producers do not realise', the terrible prejudice of people in Britain \ against accumulated old beef. Sle points out, in reply to an interview •in the Yorkshire Observer, in which West Yorkshire butchers declared that old Australian beef was quite unsaleable in the pooreet industrial areas, describing it,aa a poor, third-Tate article compared with the Argentine, that he is personally satisfied that, when properly thawed and cooked, it is not distinguishable from the best fresh beef. Mr. Jowett also points out that a similar ''prejudice existed against Australian mutton and lamb-, last year, but as soon as old stocks were cleared out in January the prejudice quickly disappeared, and prices rose rapidly. He believes that a.similar result will follow the immediate disposal of old beef, the enhanced pi'ice for new shipments *quickly'recoupin£ the outlay entailed by accepting Vestey's offer. v

Vestey's bought up the whole of the Imperial Government purchases of beef in England, afloat, and in Australia and New Zealand. , They, have now cleared all the Government beef from the stores in New Zealand;, but about 150,000 quarters of the meat are said (to be, still undisposed of. A proposal was made to the Dominion Government that in oi'der to clear it out of the way of the market recourse should be had to co-operation with Australia in purchasing the meat. The proposal was referred by the Dominion Government to the Producers' Committee; but that body decided to take no steps along the line indicated. The High Commissioner was instructed to reply that the Government could see no good purpose being served by the proposed Australian-New Zealand purchase, considering the strong. Argentine competition and the all-round low price of bsef in the British market. New Zealand was, not interested in _ any scheme for any proposed acceleration'of disposal by a. clearing out of the Vestey purchase. Had there been any large quantity of New Zealand beef in exist-.. ience, and its disposal menaced by _ the Vestey accumulations, the position might have been different. In this connection it is announced by the Pastoral Review that the Commonwealth Government has purchased 2000 tons of Vestey stocks of Australian beef for presentation to the Russian Famine Fund. The Review held that this would afford very little relief to the congested markets. The price was said to have been £50000, which works out at about 2.7 d per lb. Two thousand tons is equal to, roughly,. 30,000 quarters. Early in December, the stocks of frozen beef in Great Britain and afloat from all sources were in the region/ of 1,000,000 quarters.