MARKETS FOR MEAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17652, 13 December 1920, Page 4

MARKETS FOR MEAT.

INQUIRIES FROM CANADA.

DEMAND FOR. BEEF AND LAMB

VALUE OF CO-OPERATION.

The prospects of developing a market in Canada for New Zealand meat ■were discussed on Saturday by Mr. H. S. Thompson, who represent* a firm in Toronto, Canada, repnted to be one of the largest meat-packing firms in the world. Mr. Thompson said his object in visiting " New Zealand was to ascertain whether lamb and beef grown in this country would still be available for Canadian consumption in the same quantities as were sent there by the Imperial Government. " We want to enter into negotiations for the purchase of beef and lamb delivered at the Atlantic seaboard," said Mr. Thompson. ' "We have a preferential duty of one cent, a lb. on all New Zeaia-nd meat .imported into Canada, and on all similar imports from other countries there is a duty of three cents a pound." The reason Canada was importing meat —especially lamb—was that a large quantity of Canadian lamb was being sold as i '"fresh-dressed meat" to tne United i States, and the country was now in the j position of having insufficient supplies j with which to meet its own trade demands j during the spring season. There was also the further object of trying to foster j trade within the Empire. Canada, with | a population of nearly 7,000,000 raised j something like 3,000,000 lambs 'for its i fresh meat trade, and just now it was pood j business to .trade with America, which j did not produce anything like the amount, jof lamb necessary for its population. I? | arrangements could be mace tor a regular | supply of lamb from New Zealand and I Australia, there was no reason whv a ; considerable trade should not be "done ■ between these countries and Canada. The general question of marketing the I surplus of meat was the subject oi some I observations by Mr. H Lea.' a represen- | tative of a London meat company. He said that owing to the extension of "the monopolize control of the world'? meat ■ market, if the farmers of New Zea : and ; were not very careful thev would 6nd ! their industry- .absolutely dependent upon I large concerns, whose chief" aim was to j control the prices for cattle and she-n at I the same time charging the consumers anv | price they choose. | It was necessary for the fanners to m- ; operate in freezing their meat and shir;piriK it to Britain on their own accountj Under monopolistic control the prices farmen. received for their produri -.immediately might possibly rv o them a good return The historv of the Meat trust showed, however, that this would only temporary-, it being in the interest of the trust to gain the confidence of the growers, this being the mo>t useful w»apon the trust could use against anv firm* competing against it. Having disposed ..f its rivals, the trust then "applied tMe screw," and as a result the temporal v gam made by the farmers was swept away, as it were, by one stroke. The most effective means of combatting ths designs of any large combination was reoperation between the producers and the consumers. This would result in the stabilising of prices, and naturally both factors would benefit. The farmers would certainly have th* support of the merchants in London s? well as the support of all thos e outside the combination.