When Public Would Benefit From Meat Prices

Chronicle (Levin), 21 May 1948, Page 7

When Public Would Benefit From Meat Prices

Press Association )

(Per

AUCKLAND, May 20. When retail prices of meat are again permitted to find their own level through the normal process oi competition, the publie will have cheaper meat and an infinitely better service. This statement was inade by'Mr. 1-. A. Hellaby, mafiaging director of k. and W. Hellaby, Ltd., when giving evidenee before the Commission of m quiry investigating fresh meat supplies' throughout the Dominion. & He said the removal of control would seem impracticable under the presenl system of rationing but he urged thal when rationing became unuecessary, the controlled and regulated retai. price list should be abandoned. Mr. Hellaby submitted that it would be desirable to readjust retail prices over the whole year to bring them more into reiation with the average rise in the winter buying price, but not necessaril> to increase a butcher's overall annuaJ profit. This would have the advautagc of removing the fiuancial embarrass in ent in the winter months from but chers setting up in business or th.osc of slender resources, and of eheckini; the demand for meat in periods oi scarcity and higli buying p'rices. "We do not consider it practicablc for butehers to buy exclusiveiy at a sclfedule similar to that adopted for export, " Mr. Hellaby stated. "We believe it essential that butehers shouJd be free to pay such prices for livestoclc as will "maintain a st-eady, constant supply of fresh meat of suitabie quality at all times of the year. 11 butehers we re restricted they would bo powerless to attract supplies and an artilicial scarcitv would at once arise. " The manager of Wilson Meats Ltd., Mr. B. L. Orr, agreed that adequatc supplies of fresh meat had been and would be available provided there was uo restrictipn or artjficial control 111 operation. He said it was now practicable for butehers to buy on a sehedule basis and mauy of them did so However, it was just as imperativc that they should not be deprived ot their right to buy at auction saies, although group buying needed no encouragemeut. If this were carried to excess, auction would become a farce and t'armers would be deprived of a cohvenient and economic means of disposing of fat stock in the winter. "We see no solution to the butch ers' problem within a complete prict control system," Mr. Orr added. "We t'eel very dehnitelv that any attempl to control prices and supplies of fat stock artiiicially, will make a bad position worse so far as supplies are concerned. •Such action would prob ably temporarilv eliminate the exist ing very unfair position of the butcher but it would undoubtedly result in chaos and an inereased necessity to use frozen meat. This in itself would be wastef ul and expeusive. ' ' The only wav in whicli butehers could obtain justice was to dispense with the retail pnce control on fresh meat. The price to the cousumer w.ould be lower over a period of several years than if further controls were instituted. A very great improvemcut in the whole position would also result from completely dispensing with meat grad ing. Farmers' organisations had issuod a warning of the effects of gradiug being instituted in tiine of shortages aua their forecasts had came true. The Comniission adjourned.