MEAT PROBLEM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23953, 1 May 1941, Page 10

MEAT PROBLEM

MATTER OF URGENCY FARMERS' UNION SCHEME PROPOSALS TO GOVERNMENT [by TKi.i:<;it .sen—imuoss association] CIIHIKTCIIURCII, Wednesday Requesting the Government, "as a matter of extreme urgency," to decide and make known its policy for the disposal of meat in the coming season, and suggesting the steps to be taken, resolutions adopted at a special meeting of the Dominion executive of the Farmers' Union last week were read to the North Canterbury executive of the union today by Mr. G. C. Warren, who attended the special meeting as delegate. Classifying meat taken by the Government into "exportable," "eventually exportable," and "unexportable," the Dominion executive proposes that exportable meat, meat exportable within the export year, should "finance itself us at present"; the purchase oi eventually exportable meat should be financed by short term loans raised by the Government "from the genuine savings of the people"; the purchase of unsaleable meat should bo financed from the Consolidated Fund. "These proposals will fairly distribute the loss over the whole community, will avoid any inflationary effect unon our currency through payment for that portion of the meat which is not immediately exportable, and will avoid further stimulation of the demand for goods which are not available for consumption." said the executive's renort. Other proposals under the head of "finance" were: —That although the past season's prices had not in all cases covered all production costs they should be taken as the basis, in view of the war situation, on the understanding that the Government took effective action to prevent, further increases in costs; the Government should continue to purchase all meat offered for killing for export and the prices paid for those classes which were exportable should he on the basis of the prices paid by the British Government at present; for classes not exportable ibe basis should be the present prices to farmers, and in both cases the actual distribution of prices over the various grades should bo further considered.