FOOD PRICES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19374, 9 January 1925, Page 5

FOOD PRICES

INQUIRY BY ROYAL COMMISSION. SIR PHILIP PROCTOR'S VIEWS. Trail Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, January 7. Tho Royal Commission on Food Prices this morning heard evidence by Sir Philip Proctor, who stated that the consumption of meat in Great Britain and Ireland in 1925 was 1,997,000 tons, which was the highest for six yafirs. He estimated tho home production at 1,065,000 tons and the importations at 932,000 tons. Out of tho total consumption about 27 per cent, was mutton and 73 per cent. beef. The imports of mutton in 1923 were 291,000 tons, of which 60 per cent, was front the dominions and 39 per cent, from foreign countries. The beef imports totalled 641.000 tons, of which 12 per cent, was from tho dominions and 87 per cent, from foreign countries. Tho dominions furnished 5i per cent, of tho total beef consumption, while South America provided 38 per cent. The establishing of a system of licenses to deal with the deficiency in homo supplies and to secure a market which already existed for under 6 per cent, resembled putting in a paper fastener with a hydraulic ram. No stimulus appeared to be necessary to arrest the decline in the world’s hocks of sheep. Tho present price of wool and the future prospects would do far more in that respect than any attraction which any meat market could offer. iSir Phillip Proctor declared that Now Zealand was only just recovering frmn deterioration in tho standard duo to tho Government being the sole buyers of New Zealand produce. It was difficult to believe that any of the proposals that had been made would be acceptable to colonial producers. The dominions needed no encouragement in tho direction of supplying all the needs of Great Britain. “We could have done with at least another 1.000. sheep or lambs from Australia,” he said, “but Australia was unable to supply them.” Britain would continue for many years to absorb everything the dominions were able to produce. As regards hopes for tho ability of Australia to furnish a larger - proportion of our beef needs, the herds of Queensland (the only large beef exporting State) had declined from 7,047,000 in 1921 to 6,396,000 in 1923, while the consumption of beef within tho State had increased from 287.000 to 320,000 cattle in the same period. It was worthy of note that an increase of 25 per cent, of tho population in Australia would consume all the surplus beef at present available for export. Great Britain was no longer tho only market for meat. No scheme of price regulation would bo acceptable to tho producers unless it assured them of tho world’s market value for their produce. The problem of tho future would bo not so much to regulate the admission of meat to England as to secure sufficient meat, in the face of Continental competition, to maintain tho present standard of consumption. Sir Philip Proctor said ho did not think that the State purchase of meat was going to solve tho difficulty.—Reuter. QUESTION 01-' CHEAPER MEAT. TILE ONLY PRACTICAL REMEDIES. LONDON, January 7. (Received January 8, at 10.45 p.m.j Sir Philip Proctor said it was absurd to suggest that tho dominions could supply all Britain’s needs in imported meat. For many years Britain would need large supplies of foreign meat in addition to all the dominions could send. Ho did not believe that Government purchase or artificial control of prices would do anything to cheapen meat. Tho only practical remedies were for tho poorer classes to divert their purchases to cheaper Joints and thus prevent heavy waste by butchers or alternatively a campaign aiming at a national reduction in meat consumption till the demand fell below the supply.—A. and N.Z. Cable. Sir Philip Proctor ia a director of tho Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company. He was Director of Meat Supplies to tho Ministry of Food in 1920-21. SIR GORDON CAMPBELL'S EVIDENCE LONDON, January 7. (Received January 8, at, 7.45 p.m.) Before the Royal Commission on Food Prices Sir Gordon Campbell gave evidence that in order to supersede the River Plate as producer of beef tho number of cattle in Australia must bo increased to about 50.000. or 60,000,000, which, cannot be done in live, nor in 15 years. Moreover, frozen beef was becoming more unpopular in Britain. It would take many years to improve the quality of Australian beef up to the general level of tho Argentine exports. —Reuter.