IS FREEZING MERGER PRACTICABLE?

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3491, 29 October 1926, Page 10

IS FREEZING MERGER PRACTICABLE?

biggest concerns refuse TO AMALGAMATE. blaming the meat board. WELLINGTON. Thursday. The proposal made recently that the co-oporativo freezing companies in New Zealand should merge does not appear to be a practicable proposition. Mr J. M. Joll (Havelock North) explained at the meeting of the Do--' minion executive of tbe New Zealand Farmers’ Union yesterday that the shareholders of the Whakatu Company had recently turned down the merger proposal. Mr Jackson (Wairarapa) said that a meeting of the freezing company in his district had decided to support the policy of the Meat Board in the matter. Mr C. C. Munro (Auckland) said that ho did not know a groat deal about the freezing industry, but he did not know that the vitals were being chewed out of tho co-opera-tive freezing companies in the Dominion, and unless the Government or tho Meat Board did something speedily to relieve the situation the New Zealand works would soon beat the mercy of Uie wealthy overseas’ meat concerns.

Mr W. J. Poison said tho trouble was that the big meat concerns would not agree to amalgamate, and. they could not lix rates which would pay the smaller works, as this would give the bigger works, which could kill and f freeze much more cheaply, immense profits. Mr Joll said the farmers of New Zealand had invested the Meat Board with supremo powers, and the board should step in and take whatever action was necessary. Mr O. P. Lynch (Paekakariki? declared that there would be no solution of the difficulty until the Meat Board followed the lead of the Dairy Control Board and assumed absolute control.