Meat exporters term criticism 'garbage'

Press, 2 July 1983, Page 3

Meat exporters term criticism 'garbage'

PA Auckland Exporters yesterday described as “irresponsible garbage” criticism by the general manager of the Meat Board, Mr J. P. Bremner, and accused the board of wanting to take over the marketing of sheepmeat permanently. Mr Bremner had told the meat and wool section of Federated Farmers at its conference in Wellington on Thursday that most private traders were nothing but brokers operating by telephone and telex. “If anything goes wrong they just drop the price,” he said. Mr Bremner said the Meat Board had tried to

bring some discipline into the market. “But reluctantly I have come to the view that the board will have to continue to own the product if we are to get the optimum price in the market,” he said. The president of the Independent Meat Exporters’ Association, Mr Gray Mathias, of Auckland, said yesterday that he and other exporters took exception to being labelled as nothing but brokers using telephone and telex. “That is just totally irresponsible garbage, and I think Mr Bremner knows it,” he said. “That situation no longer exists. All exporters are continually in touch with

markets and regularly make personal visits.” Mr Mathias said the Meat Board had been continually criticising exporters for the last 12 months but the latest comments by Mr Bremner would do more damage than anything said previously. Mr Peter Johnson, group general manager of the large Wellington-based company, W. and R. Fletcher (N.Z.), Ltd, the New Zealand arm of the Vestey meat empire, said that if Federated Farmers had invited meat exporters to their conference it could have been a lively affair. The reference to telephone brokers was inaccurate and offensive, he said.