MEAT PRICES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 103, 28 October 1939, Page 12

MEAT PRICES

"REASONABLE"

BUT NOT MUCH MARGIN

Commenting today on the announced price agreement with Britain, on1 the wartime meat purchase plan, the secretary of the New Zealand Farmers* Union (Mr. A. P. O'Shea) made it clear that the true value of the prices could not be assessed until intermediate handling charges had been fixed and until the prices for by-products, had been announced. b* . However, he said, the prices ap-: peared to be satisfactory, on a slightlyhigher basis than last' year's. They, were not going to allow the farmer any "profiteering"—-the farmer, would require every penny he was to get in order to retain his position—but they seemed to be reasonable in the circumstances. ' PROSPECTS FOR SEASON DOUBTFUL. Mr. O'Shea said it was deubtful whether. the coming season would be more productively satisfactory than last year's. Climatic variations in some important producing parts of New Zealand had interfered with stock successes. Parts of the east coast, for instance, were running be-, hind normal rain .< schedule, .and South Island stock losses had been fairly heavy because of snowstorms and continued rough weather. After a drought in many parts of New Zealand ewes had not entered, the winter in perfect condition, and lambs would have a big hurdle in, front of them this spring. Members of the meat trade explained that it would be useless for them to comment on the meat price agreement until the intermediate handling charges had been announced. The schedule of prices announced by the Minister of Marketing could be, until then, only a rough guide. It was stated, however, that ■■"■ Mr. Nash's anxiety about inadequate freezing storage space was shared by the export and freezing companies, and that most companies were now planning and making extensions to their space. ' ' ■ ■ ' .