VALUES FOR BEEF

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20890, 23 August 1939, Page 13

VALUES FOR BEEF

RETAIL PRICE PROSPECTB RISE CONSIDERED INEVITABLE The sharp advance in beef values at the Frankton saleyards yesterday is taken by some members of the retail trade as an indication of a possible rise in retail prices. Yesterday at Frankton cows and heil'ers were dearer by Li to 3us a head, and in not a few cases by £i a head, the advance a lUOlb. on a conservative estimate approximating 2s to 4s. Ox was also dear, but here the increase was not as substantial as in the cow and heifer beef section. Heavy prime bullocks sold freely from £l4 to £lo lOs per head, with best ox being quoted from 34s to 38s per 1001 b., but sometimes reaching 40s. Over the past three weeks some classes in the cow beef section have advanced by £3 a head, and in view of the. general shortage of prime cattle it is not expected that there will be any recession of values within the near future. The Price Schedule One butcher stated this morning that as far as Hamilton was concerned there was no schedule of prices, and Hie South Auckalnd Butchers' Association did not interfere in the matter. The Hamilton public was fortunate in the fact that prices as a whole were Id a lb. lower than those in the Auckland price list. Prices in Hamilton for some seasonal beef lines had already gone up slightly this week, and with the steep advance at the saleyards retail price rises seemed inevitable. Another member of the retail trade, after commenting on the substantial price advance at the saleyards, said that another thing that was affecting retail traders at present was the increase in the petrol tax, which had added considerably to their expenses. A rise in retail prices seemed necessary under the circumstances, although his firm had not yet considered the position.