WHAT WILL DOOM OF IMPERIAL PREFERENCE MEAN?

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 90, Issue 8, 10 January 1946, Page 5

WHAT WILL DOOM OF IMPERIAL PREFERENCE MEAN?

END TO OTTAWA AGREEMENT N.Z. LONDON MEAT INTERESTS VIEW SITUATION GRAVELY

Reed. 6.30 p.m. London, Jan. 9. The possibility of the abolition of the Ottawa Agi'eement and the consequent ending of Imperial preference is regarded gravely by New Zealand meat interests in London. In the prewar years alter Ottawa. Argentine exports of meat to Britain were pegged and subjected to periodical reductions, but thoughout the war years, with Britain requiring all the food she could secure from any source, imports of Argentine beef, mutton and lamb increased sharply. The end of the Ottawa Agreement, it is felt, would not only allow those increases to be maintained, but perhaps also increased, thereby competing directly with the New Zealand meat industry. The figures of meat imports from the Argentine into Britain during the years 1939-44 are now available. They show that In 1939 Argentine sent 104,664 cwt. of mutton to Britain. In 1944 the figure was 176.561 cwt. Lamb rose from 817,656 cwt. to 1.332,573 cwt. Beef (including bone) rose from 1.746,760 cwt. to 1.921,542 cwt., and beef (boned and boneless) from 27.899 cwt. to 2,903,275 cwt. Full figures for 1945 are not yet available, but during the first nine months of that year imports from the Argentine declined, compared with those for the same period of 1944. The total imports of all types of Argentine meat were 3,445,663 cwt. compared with 8,685,*83 cwt. in 1944. Argentine exports are normally the highest in the final quarter of the year, but are dependent, to some extent, on the availability of freight. During 1946 n new wheat agreement is bei _ 7 negotiated between Britain and the Argentine, and it is understood it is on the point of completion, but details have not yet been published. Uruguay is also an important source of Britain’s meat supply. During the war there was a fluctuating but steady increase of exports, as in the case of Argentine. A recent shipment of Uruguayan lamb to Britain, which was put on show to the meat trade, indicated that the quality of the lambs was superior to that of pre-war ship, ments.