DUMPING OF MEAT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21938, 23 October 1934, Page 5

DUMPING OF MEAT

AUSTRALIAN PROTEST COMPLAINT AGAINST DOMINION The statement that New 1 Zealand is dumping boneless meat into Australia is made in a recent issue of Country Life, the official organ of the Graziers' Association of New South Wales. The journal declares that "the stockowners of New South Wales are face to face with a new peril," and states that the Sydney meat market is being glutted, not only with meat from Queensland and Victoria, and cheap iow-grade pieces and meat sundries from outside the metropolitan area, but also with an avalanche of boneless meat from New Zealand. Between August 2S and September 15, the article continues. 43,1061b. of veal pieces and 46,0611b. of pork pieces were unloaded on to the Sydney market, an operation that is describee} as "foisting the Dominion's inferior meat on Australia." The journal fears that this is only the beginning of a sparkling new trade for the Dominion.. "Dumping of any inferior meat on the Sydney market must undermine Honiebush and fat stock prices generally. Country Life insists that this new torrent of trouble shall be shut out from Australia quick and .lively/' the article concludes. Meat exporters in Auckland, to whom the article was referred, did not treat it very seriously. They stated that some years ago there was a useful market in Australia for pork and beef pieces, but this had dwindled. At present odd shipments were made when the market was favourable, but the duties imposed by tho Commonwealth restricted trade except when high prices were ruling. Anything in the nature of exploiting the Commonwealth market was scarcely possible. One Auckland firm managed recently to find an outlet in Sydney for 13 tons of bobby-calf meat, which was held up owing to the British embargo. This parcel amounted to 29,0001b., so that it possibly has some bearing on the journal's statements. "The outburst is rather silly," said an exporter y<« terday. "A few tons of meat is nothing to £ct hysterical about."