OUR MEAT SURPLUS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 162, 1 October 1941, Page 5

OUR MEAT SURPLUS

LESS THAN EXPECTED

At last meeting of the Auckland Farmers' Union Executive Mr Briscoe Moore gave the latest estimates in regard to the unexportable meat surplus. At the close of the 1939-40 season, he stated, there was a hold' over of 40,000 tons. For the season 1940-41 just closed the quantity was expected to be from 85,000 to 95,000 tons, or more than double that of the previous year. However this was a good deal less than at one time seemed likely to be on hand.

The Minister of Agriculture seemed satisfied with the ability of the meat interests to deal with the surplus. He considered that there would be storage space for 40,000 tons of meat in the Dominion at the peak of the killing season. The chief difficulty in increasing storage capacity was the construction of digestors, which was hampered by the fact that mechanics-suitable for this work were busy helping to build minesweepers. A factor that could not be overlooked was that there might be severe congestion in some' localitiea while in others there might be space Moreover, a dry season always brought a rush of stock to the works, and this would prove a serious problem.

However, Mr Moore emphasised that all the figures he had quoted were purely estimates, and too much should not be deduced from them.