-NEW ZEALAND’S MEAT

Southland Times, Issue 24423, 1 May 1941, Page 6

-NEW ZEALAND’S MEAT

POLICY FOR DISPOSAL WANTED i REQUEST BY FARMERS’ UNION (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, April 30. Requesting the Governxnent “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 Mi’ G. C. Warren, who attended the special meeting as a delegate. “We have the honour of broadcasting to New Zealand the recommendations arrived at by the Farmers’ Union,” said Mr Warren.

Classifying meat taken by the Government into “exportable,” “eventually exportable” and “unexportable,” the Dominion Executive proposes that meat exportable within the export year should “finance itself as at present.’’ The purchase of 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 be financed from the Consolidated Fund.

AVOIDING INFLATION “These proposals will fairly distribute the loss ovex’ the whole community, will avoid any inflationary effect upon 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 report. Other proposals under the heading of “finance” were: (1) That though 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. (2) The Government should continue to purchase all meat offered for killing for export and the prices paid for those classes which were exportable should be on the basis of the prices paid by the British Government at present. Fox - classes not exportable the basis should be the present prices to farmers, and in both cases the actual distribution of the prices over the various grades should be further considered.

PLANS FOR DISPOSAL For the actual disposal of meat the following suggestions were made:— (1) Fox’ the purpose of examining the position and tentatively until actual quantities are determined, the maximum quantity of meat to be held in store fox- export at September’ 30, 1942, be regarded as the basis fox’ calculation at 220,000 tons and at Septembei’ 30, 1943, at 280,000 tons, the actual figures to be determined after consultation with the Australian and British Governments.

(2) That the erection of increased storage capacity, apart from freezing chambers, to 300,000 tons be undertaken and also the construction of sufficient space for storing meat to be processed. (3) Restrictions on the storage of meat to enable the quantities suggested above to be worked to to be based on the principle., of storing and making available to Britain the most valuable meat from the point of view of obtaining the maximum food value a unit of storage space available. PROCESSING PLANT

(4) That as the shipping which it seems reasonable to expect to be available and the limitation of storage will make it impossible to treat for export very considerable quantities of meat, an immediate start should be made with the provision of processing plant for canning, dehydrating or otherwise dealing with meat excluded from cold store fox’ export. (5) Immediate determination of a general farm production policy in regard to future production based on the probabilities of the situation and aimed at obtaining the maximum production of those commodities (a) for which a definite demand exists and (b) which de not involve cold or special storage and with the overriding consideration of maintaining the economic stability and productive capacity of the farming industry.

Mx - Warren said the Dominion Executive meeting had been put forward a month because of the acute meat position. Though farmers would be willing to kill surplus stock if it would help to win the war, it was vital at the same time that the sheep industry should maintain its productive capacity. “The time is coming when the Empire and tens of millions of people in Europe are going to need food to save them from starvation,” he said. “We would be failing in oui’ duty if we did not keep up production.”