MEAT MARKETING AND THE DEPRESSION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17957, 8 December 1932, Page 11

MEAT MARKETING AND THE DEPRESSION

(To the Editor of tin* Herald.) Sir. —Li view of tlie fact that this great subject was one of the important matters dealt with at Ottawa, that _it has since been discussed in every Parliament inside the British Empire, and also in the 'Argentine as one of the most contentious of .our present day difficulties, several suggestions have been put forward both at Ottawa and elsewhere. !,Solutions such as quotas, tariffs, and internally a pegged; high exchange have been suggested, but the position gradually becomes worse simply 'because internal capital is producing at an enormous loss while outside capital is marketing at an enormous profit. It is true we have a Meat Board, hut its functions seem to be more interested in handing over one more farmers’ meat works each year to those outside interests, anil on Saturday next the Wairoa Freezing Company is to he offered to the Vestey group, assisted by a member of the Meat Board, and elosed down in a district where no railway exists. Why we should continue to live in our present bankrupt condition when our country could he made perfectly solvent is difficult to understand. Previously I wrote to the leading mercantile firms in Wellington, suggesting considerable reforms in the meat marketing, and the following is substantially what was then placed before them: —

My suggestion that the meat producers should approach the principal mercantile houses to obtain cold storage in London and consign all their clients’ meat and sell cx store or market would be a move far in advance of our present system. After going carefully into what the Meat Board has done during its term of office, I am satisfied they can never function beyond a certain limit, unless they obtained cold storage and uidertook the ■■marketing of all our meat at the other end. I question whether the mercantile firms and banking houses advancing money to farmers would entrust a board with such wide powers realising that the Meat Board after 10 years has left the meat producers in a much worse position than when it was irst formed. Quite a different aspect vould take place if the mercantile linns obtained cold storage, agreeing to charge ust of storage only, and by arrangement to sell for hanks and local mercantile firms, formed into one big Dominion marketing association for meat ; n London. This would eliminate meat combines, trusts, agents and a hundred ind one gamblers, also jobbers on the London end, all living on our meat •usinoss, who are of no actual value to i he farmer and never can be. On the other hand the financial houses and the farmer would be brought much closer together. With their head offices in London and heir Dominion heads in Wellington and branches all over the Dominion, their •licnls would he in continual touch with their own marketing association. Such s not the case to-day. Many advantages would be gained by such a move. Most of the cold storage would be held in the Dominion by our own people; the balance held in London by our lgents need not be very large—possibly storage for three or four hundred fliou;aml would be sufficient. This would he the key to the whole situation in sue■essful marketing. Regular shipping irrangements can always he made, so is to eliminate large storage in London, [n any big move of Ibis description you must expect considerable opposition bom vested interests, both here and it Home. Before proceeding further 1 nay mention I have some knowledge of the farmers’ mind and 1 know they will lever have faith in linns buying on one nul and selling on the other, hut these 'inns ha.ve been forced upon us because •>nr mercantile houses have never provided us with any alternative marketing. It may lie said that they have secured a very big bold at Home. That may be in the beef trade, but in mutton and lamb we will always bold a strong position and will grow considerably. 1 understand Volley's and Borihwick’.s ■outnil a large number of shops. I do not know whether Sims, Cooper’s have uiy. but when you realise there are 79.000 meat shops in Great Britain, an organisation such’ as I suggest,' holding

large supplies of our meat from these linns, largely puts their retail business in your hands, instead of your clients being almost at the domination of these companies.

If the three big mercantile houses in New Zealand—the Loan and Mercantile, Dalgcty’s, and Murray Roberts—undertook marketing after obtaining cold storage because of their stronger financial position, without offering to transact business on behalf of the small New Zealand linns and hanks doing similar business here, there would be a feeling of jealousy and mistrust, fearing that better marketing: would lose many ol‘ their clients to the bigger firms. It may also be said that this proposal would require more capital, but seeing that the value of meat, wool and byproducts has been as high as between thirty and forty millions and is now down to twelve or fourteen, it would appear to be more an adjustment of capital than the extra money employed. Of the total quantity of meat used in Britain, Argentine stands first with 54 per cent., Britain and Ireland 17.6 per cent., New Zealand 16.8 per cent., and smaller quantities from various countries, but as the value of our meat is much higher per ton than other imported meat it is evidently sought after, the range of value per ton being Australian £52. New Zealand £67, Argentine £45, Uruguay £49, United States (only a small quantity) £B2, other countries £49. Again, our quantity each year is gradually on the increase, and firms undertaking our marketing could dope nd upon supplies being available. Of the three big, countries exporting mutton and lamb since 1880 to 1931, Australia exported 79,000,000 carcases, New -Zealand 211,000.000, and Argentine 138,000,000. Odd figures in each ease have been omitted, nor does it include last year’s export, which was a record for New Zealand of nearly 12,000,000 carcases. In comparison .with the other two countries, for quality and quantity New Zealand outstrips tho other two, being only 7.000,000 carcases less than Australia and Argentine together over a period of 50 years. It is evident that New Zealand has settled upon a production of crossbred wool, coupled with mutton and lamb, which has no equal, and last year its returns were possibly one of the lowest on record, and this season promises to bo infinitely -worse. This does not seem in keeping with one of the big cold stores in London, which returned nearly £1,000,000 profit last season, and does

not handle chillcxl beef from the Argentine. The mercantile houses in Nmv Zealand have gone to considerable expense to display and market our wool, and I fail to sen why they cannot do even better in marketing onr meat. The system I suggest practically means price lixing and pooling, according to conditions prevailing at the time of marketing, each company and bank taking its clients’ share of the returns. I am satisfied if a Meat Board is to bo of any use it must be on the London end.— Yours, etc., F. & BOWEN, Muriwai.