N.Z. MEAT

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 29, 3 August 1926, Page 7

N.Z. MEAT

ITS RECEPTION ABROAD DOES NOT DOMINATE SMITHFIELD ' FREEZING WORKS FINANCE..,, Some comment on tho question of freezing works finance .towmade by -Mr. W. J. Poison,' president of tho New Zealand Farmers•Union, in his opening address at the union to-day. Mr. Poison also - issued a warning against the ■operation of trusts, and ,went on to __ deal with the position of New Zea- . land meat on the London market. ■ "We know that the Meat Board': is animated solely by the desire to do its best for the producers and that' the anxiety of both board and Minister is to prevent freezing interests, controlling our means of production by the purchase of the freezing works," said Mr. Poison. But credit has been the foundation of all our colonial development. Without overseas capital, neither the Government nor the .people' cf New Zealand could have- gone ahead; stagnation must have ensued. Overseas capital is as desirable in the development of our freezing industry ■_ Its any other industry. But foreign capital, and I use tho term merely as distinct from local capital, must 'be controlled. The function of the Meat Board is not to stop the use of; for? eign capital but to supervise it. That was the purpose for which it was appointed. I have always held this view and have in the past givenxepeated public expression to it. But if the board and the Government is going to maintain the attitude that foreign capital must, .be shut out for fear of the trusts, then, it must substitute something else.". What. should that substitution consist of? ' POWERS FOB THE BOARD. - "I believe that the plan should be to give additional powers to the board to enable it to review the whole position, value works, not only as producing units, but having regard to their economic value and also to their value as an insurance factor, and that a sum should be set aside by Parliament for the board's use to subsidise such •works as in its judgment it considered it desirable or necessary should be maintained if in its "opinion such' works could not function profitably without some such help. "I observe that in New South Wales there is a plan- of this kind in operation or under consideration, and I think it is necessary in New Zealand. It is unreasonable to take steps which depreciate and destroy the value of a' perfectly good security by rendering it non-transferable, and consequentlyuseless to the only capital we can avail ourselves of, unless there is an alter--native method of providing such capital. It is the duty of the Government through the board to either provide the alternative or abandon its plan." trusts: the need of frecatjr . . tion. ..: : "While on. this question may I say that we have every reason to continue our precautions against the operation of trusts in this country. The fight between the two great packing combinations, Swift's and Vestey's, 'in South America has revealed thedanger arising from such combinations. Any understanding between such' huge interests would put the South American producers at their mercy, and on the other hand the fight between, them for supremacy just, now has resulted in. hammering down, prices on Smi'thfield, Su that producers all over the world are suffering in consequence. The enormous power which Vestey and Co. possess, through their numerous subsidiary companies, as well as the UnionCold Storage Company, is n.ot. fully tealised. There is a feeling on: the part of many producers that the Meat Board is not doing all it should', do in combating the influence of trusts. 1 I confess I am unable to see what more it could do at the other end. While there is a belief that the disparity -between, what the consumer pays and T^hat the producer receives, is much too great, it is .difficult to get at the truth because of the many different classes of trade and the differences in the quality of the meat they sell. It is not uncommon to find stalls sellingNew Zealand lamb at less than. the Smithfield wholesale price. Examination reveals these to be the cheaper cuts of damaged parcels of inferior lamb. Onthe,other hand, the beat'cuts.' in the high-class shops are dear : and arouse comment. In the Midland districts, second quality 1-unb brings prices which are sometimi.: superior .to the Smithfield price for prime;; It isnot uncommon, to see an account'sale with seconds at Is and prime at lid.The suggestion is of course that there is something wrong with our system of grading. The fact is that . certain classes of trade require certain"'grades, of meat and when there is any shortago they have to pay for it. . ■, A-pASB IN POINT. "One of the sources of income'of'the big proprietary concerns might, I think, be further investigated by the board. They dispose, of large parcels of beef and lamb to the American naval authorities at Honolulu, to both the naval and military branches in the Panama Canal zone, to Vaucouver, and on oeca: sion to Eastern Canada. Judging from the class of meat I saw in tho markets at Montreal, for example, good New Zealand lamb should on occasion sell well. Canadian lambs tallowy, in appearance, and teg weights actually eometimes go over the border and sell in the United States in spite of the tariff. All these places are made use of by the big packing firms, particularly iVestey and Co., but whether it would be worth the Meat Board's while to further investigate them I cannot' say. ■It is undesirable to have all one's eggs in one basket,afr any time, and possibly the Government, through the board, would be well advised to give some encouragement to private enterprise to enable these markets to be explored.' NEW ZEALAND. MEAT AT SMITHFIELD. "It is a niistaketo suppose that New Zealand meat has any sort of dominate ing position on Smithfield market. With the exception, of our lamb, we occupy a comparatively unimportant position. Smithfield contains a great quantity of meat from most parts of the world, including—until the discovery of 'foot-and-mouth germs put a stop to it a few weeks ago —fresh meat from abroadlulled in Holland and sent across-to Smithfield as fresh killed. But Smithfield's conservative methods do not assist the meat importer. Just as an illustration: It is usual to barrow meat into the stalls in flat barrows with iron stanchions on either side to keep the carcasses from falling out. ■As the meat is flung in and hauled out of these barrows the backs become lacerated against tho sharp corners of these square iron supports. The result is that there is always a few carcasses left in each, stall with damaged backs and of unsightly appearnce. These are sold at reduced prices, and in the- aggregate the xearljr loss from thi§ pause

"must amount to a largo sum. I was informed that an agitation conducted by the radical element in Smithficld had gone on for years to have these staunehions changed to round ones, but that so far it had been unsuccessful. A SUBSTITUTE FOE LAMB. "Fitter's prices during June and July afford a fairly reliable index to strike conditions. The fall in. our lamb prices and the substitution of small mutton for lamb is* clearly tmdciv-ratwl by the following table: — Prime Lamb. 2nd Lamb. Mutton small, il. d. d. d. d: d. May 28.. 9'/. to 10>,i> il& to 9=4 S'/. to 6% June 4.. DM: to 10>/< 9% to 9% 5% to 6% Juno 11. 9i/2 to 10% 0% to 9Mi !>% to 1 Juno 18 . 9% to 10 <J ■ to 9H- 5% to 7 June 25 . 9% to 10 9 to 9% 5% to 7 July 2 .. SVi to 9% BY. to 9 5% to 7 July 9.. 9 to OVC SVi to S% 0 to 7 July 16 . %Vi to DH 8% to 8% 6 to 7 "These figures are probably an indication of the diminution of tho.buying power of the public, the increased demand for small mutton being duo no doubt to its increased use as a substitute for lamb. "It is unfortunate that something is not done to amend the unpopular method of election of members of the Meat Board. It is undemocratic and creates discontent. The personnel of the board would not be weakened by a more popular system, and it would give the producers a greater interest. in afiairs and silence criticism. The members of the board themselves need not be much concerned about the mode of election. The bulk of the producers are satisfied with the board."