MEAT RESTRICTIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 January 1941, Page 4

MEAT RESTRICTIONS

FARMERS’ UNION VIEW SHIP-LOADING DELAYS [per press association.] WELLINGTON, January 15. The restrictions on meat exports were not altogether unexpected, said the Dominion secretary of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union (Mr. A. P. O’Shea) in an interview to-night. He had discussed the matter by telephone with the Dominion president of the union (Mr. W. W. Mulholland), so the views he was expressing were not merely his own. It had to be realised, said Mr. O’Shea, that the British Government was taking a step which losses of refrigerated tonnage had made unavoidable; but there was no blinking the fact that New Zealand had not done what it could have done to speed up the loading and unloading of ships. If this had been done where it could have been done it would have been possible to save a week a ship in the total t : me taken in the round voyage. However, though it must be recognised that shipping losses were the main factoi* influencing the. British Government, there could be no doubt that our unenviable record of slackness, strikes, and hold-ups must have been a contributing factor, as inust also have been the highei - costs in New Zealand. This record made it difficult for us to ask for any special consideration. It was important that this should be recognised, for though the restriction on the export of meat might be only a temporary measure, if New Zealand wanted to make it possible tc/get back to her previous quota when ships again became available, the dispatch of ships would have to be speeded up. This also had a bearing on the. dispatch of dairy produce. The Government system of payment for produce f.o.b. would probably require to be revised. New Zealand could hold her present position only if she did everything possible so that the most economical use of the shipping available could be made. On modern ships it would be possible, by making certain modifications in the procedure of loading, to work the clock round in three shifts. This would not be possible in some of the older ships; but in their case it would be possible to work two shifts of nine hours. The working of three shifts during loading would only be possible if Watersiders' would agree to work in temperatures lower than those regarded as the minimum at present. It would be possible, however, to work three shifts all the time a vessel was unloading. This would help also in that the men would be fresher than they were under the present method of individuals working long hours. The Government had given an undertaking that it would purchase all farmers’ products; but up to the present, though the Farmers’ Union had asked how this was to be carried out, it had been unable to get clarification.

LESS STERLING. “One of the consequences,” added Mr. O’Shea, “will be a diminution of the net national income, and there will be less sterling funds available to New Zealand. This means that imports will have to be still further reduced, and the community must be prepared to make very considerable further sacrifices. This means also that if any section of the people get further increases in money rewards', other sections will have to go seriously short. The economic stabilisation conference evidently had some such possibility in mind when it made its recommendations; but it is to be regretted that up to the present no attempt has been made to carry those recommendations into effect. The consequence is that New Zealand is unprepared for this situation. One fact stands out, and must be faced—that is, that the smaller amount of sterling available will render economy absolutely imperative. There will have to be a drastic overhaul in all expenditure in the Dominion, both of public expenditure and that of many individuals. This will create a serious internal situation, which will have to be tackled immediately.”

MR. NASH’S STATEMENT. CHRISTCHURCH, January 15. The extent of the reduction of the imports of meat into the United Kingdom, which was indicated by the'British Minister for Food (Lord Woolton) in a cable message published today cannot yet be stated. The New Zealand Government is conducting negotiations with the British Government, and has asked for certain facilities in order to increase the amount suggested, according to the Minister for Marketing (Mr. Nash), who discussed the cable message in a telephone interview from Hokitika with “The Press,” this evening. “Nothing has been definitely decided in the negotiations yet,” said the Minister. “According to the last cable message I received before I left Wellington, the amount of meat from New Zealand will have to be curtailed, but the matter is being very closely watched by the New Zealand Government, and it is hoped that agreement will be reached for a satisfactory quota.” In reply to a question how the curi tailment would affect the producers of meat in the Dominion, the Minister! I said that extra cool stores were now under construction to store the surplus meat till the restrictions were removed. The Government had undertaken to buy the whole of the producers’ meat supply for this season, but this was at prices free on board. It was possible that a charge would have to be made for the necessary storage because of the restrictions. There would have to be some discussion of this matter. Clauses in the Government’s purchasing contract gave the right to claim something for storage. This right would probably have to be raised when there was an overstorage' of meat and extra stores had to be constructed. Mr. Nash said that similar negotiations about restrictions were being conducted in Australia as well as in New' Zealand. It had been thought in Australia that , the arrangements had been completed, but it was found,that the Commonwealth was in the same position as New Zealand, and negotiations were now in progress for both countries. He added that he could not give any definite) information on the arrangements that would be made between the Government and the meat producers, till he returned to Wellington.

STORAGE CAPACITY. WELLINGTON, January 15. “One deplores the necessity for any restriction on any New Zealandproduced commodity, especially in view of the extra effort producers are making to assist the war effort by increasing production,” said the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland)', referring in an interview to-night to the announcement that meat shipments from New Zealand were likely to be reduced. “The announcement by Lord Woolton comes as a great disappointment to New Zealand. It is to be.hoped, as’ the improvement in the general war situation continues, that the restriction will be of a very brief and temporary nature. The provision of vastly increased storage capacity in this country since the beginning of the war should enable us to cushion the effect of the present restriction on the primary producer.”

HARBOUR BOARD REVENUE. WELLINGTON, January 16. The emergency storage being erected throughout New Zealand should be sufficient to enable the season’s meat killings to go on normally’, according to a statement made by Mr. T. A. Duncan, Chairman of the Meat Board. Ever since the commencement of the war, he said, the Board had been emphasising the need for sufficient storage space at freezing works. Conferences had been held between representatives of the Government, the freezing companies, and the Board, and as a result, considerable additions jhad been completed or were in course of completion at the various works, in addition to the provision being made by the Government for emergency storage space. Material for the buildings had been secured, and the work 'would be pushed ahead. This emergency storage, when erected, should make the total storage available sufficient to enable this season’s killings to proceed normally. It is stated, on behalf of the Wellington Harbour Board, that the Board will not be directly affected by any increased demand for space to accommodate surplus quantities of. meat, but it will be seriously affected by the falling off of revenue, if meat shipments are curtailed. The method of shipping meat entails the transfer of the produce in trucks to the wharf, and it is then transferred from ths truck to the ship by ship’s labour. Last year, approximately 60,000 tons of meat passed over the wharves at Wellington, and it will depend on the extent to which the shipments are curtailed how far the Board’s revenue will be reduced.

OTAGO ESTIMATES. * DUNEDIN, January 16. Although the restriction of meat export is a severe blow, the freezing companies are in*’ a better position, to-day, to meet it than in recent years, owing to Government insistence that the companies have storage space for 60 per cent, of the kill. Furthermore, large quantities of ewe meat held some time ago, were disposed of in time to leave the chambers empty for this season. The opinion of.experts here is that it would not take long to increase the storage space in South Otago. For instance, by telescoping. the carcases, they will be able to accommodate practically all the season’s kill.

“ONE-WAY TRADE” BLAMED. WELLINGTON, January 16. The possibility that risks to shipping in the one-way trade, resulting largely from the import contro restrictions, have contributed to the decision of the Home authorities was suggested by the President of the United Kingdom Manufacturers’ anc New Zealand Representatives’ Association (Mr E. A. Christie), when h( was interviewed. “As the Association has often said you cannot have one-way trade,” he stated, “and it seems to me that some of these ships have been coming out to New Zealand empty and going back with full cargoes. It is obvious that this sort of thing could not continue without great risk of a ship on the long sea route to New Zealand being sunk on the outward voyage, when ’it was empty, while there are countries much nearer England which are prepared to send ships arriving with full cargoes, and send them back full of produce, in a much shorter time than can be done from New Zealand. These restrictions are regrettable, and it is hoped that a satisfactory arrangement will soon be arrived at. As I have often said, the best thing would be for the United Kingdom to continue buying all the produce we like to send, as she has done in the past, New Zealand in turn purchasing to the utmost possible United Kingdom manufactured goods. On the face of it, there would appear to be some connection between this curtailment of our meat sales to the United Kingdom and the New Zealand restrictions of the past two years on the United Kingdom’s sale of goods to the Dominion, for the reasons I have stated. A point worth mentioning is that, in the case of ships coming out practically empty, higher freights might be expected.”