FRESH MEAT SHORTAGE PREDICTED

Chronicle (Levin), 4 February 1949, Page 7

FRESH MEAT SHORTAGE PREDICTED

Fixed Prices May Discourage Production

A recommendation tiiat all farmcra for the next 12 months &eii as much stock as possihle for expbrt, therehy giving efifect to the federation's preseut policy of aid to Britaln and at the same time protecting the producers' own interests, was made at a meeting of the meat and woo! section of Manawatu Provincial Federated Farmers yesterday. xne recommenaation will oe brought to the notice of head office by the chairman, Mr. T. M. Ryder. • This action was taken following a report 011 the decision of the Price Tri bunal regarding the wholesale and te tail price of fresh meat. Outlining the position, the chairman stated that the new wholesale price schedule for carcase meat iixed by tiie. tribuiial set the basic price to operate in the North lsland from December i to June 30 with seasonal 4-ncreases toithe iiionths of July and August. For the fSouth Islaud the basic price applied from .Tanuarv to June with seasonal in: creases for the months of July, Augusr and December. On the other months of the year the market was open for the whole of the Doininion with no (ixed price control on fresh meat. Production Discouraged. Hp till recently, Alr. Ryder contiiriied. adequate supplies of fresh meat had come on to the marLix, during the winter months because of the speciai premium paid th'e. producer under conditions similar to those determimng a premium for winter uiilk for towu supplv. The Goveruinent had now iixed the price for winter uieat which did not compeiisate the farrner adeijuatcl. and this iixation would discourage the sale of stock in the winter for hoiue consuinption. It w?.s probabie, therefore, that the public would have to get used to frozen meat as the farmers would be en couraged to sell all their meat in the summer months and butchers would have to rely on freezmg works for their winter suppiies. The fixation of the price would have the effect of depieting the market of fresh meat for the consumer. ]Mr. Ryder commented that it seemed beyond all reasoniiig that tho l'rice Tribuiial shoulil ignore Ihe majority ro ;>ort of the. Fresh Meat Hupply. (Jomni.ssiou aud inipleincnt the minority rqport of oue rnember -of tlfat coniuiission — a inember wlio was a butchor. ' If the public were/forced 'to cat all Iro/.en eat it would soou "squeah, comuiented Mr. K. Mitchcll. The GoV ernment uscd the slightest excuse to exercise control but it> would have to heed the feelings 0.4 tRc pulilic. Publio's Backing. It was important to have tlicp public 011 the produccr's si'de, Mr. Ryder said* The farming commuhity was the inihur ty aua vvitliout the baeking of the Ccii sumer the primary produeer was coiu paratively helpless. ' • If we .arq to protcct ourselves and our inclustrv we must sell everything tu the works for export, " said Mr. Galloway, moving that it be a recoiiiniendation to all producers to sell as mucli ->toek as possible during the sunitne; and autumn for export.- Under tlie terms of tlie arraugemcnt the Price fribunal would rcview tlie positioii at tlie eud of tliat period. Mr. Galloway said that frozen meat in Englaud was propcrly thawed out so that wheu ready for consuinption wao quite diif'eront from the meat obtamed . rom New Zealand freezing works. The . rozeu meat on the consumer market i" Xew Zealand had not been slowK uhawed. " If the meat were properls thawed tlie public probabty would not .ecogiiise tlie did'erencc between fresh iiieat -and t'rozcn meat," he said. Alr. Galloway 's motion was passod unnnimously.