DOMINION FROZEN MEAT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 175, 13 April 1918, Page 10

DOMINION FROZEN MEAT

DISTRIBUTION IN GREAT BRITAIN

COMPLAINT BY FARMERS

.At the meeting oh Saturday of the Palmerston branch of the Farmers' Union a short discussion took placo re- : garding the handling ,of Dominion . frozen, meat in Great Britain (says the "Standard"). : . Mr. M. A. Elliott, of Palmerston, ! forwarded, correspondence he had re- : ceived from Gilbert Anderson and Co., of London, regarding the distribution of New Zealand meat." This was to the offect that- satisfactory arrangements •■' had been made, and it had been finally , decided that the distribution of meat !'. shall be by nominated agents through \ ' tlie usual channels. Nominated agents' ■ commission was fixed, as formerly, at 2 per cent., and wholesalers' profit on i meat is fixed at per' cent. Iho price | , (to the butcher was lljd., and his price to the public must not exceed 14d. The I Jigrioultural returns for the United Kingdom showed that thero were a. \ larger number of sheep and cattle in . the country than 'at any previous • ' .. period. The season was most favour- ; able for the fattening of stock.. there j 'being abundance of food', and all reas- • onahle anticipations should have re- - enlted in a largo and abundant supply ; of home-grown meat. Many million men ' had been withdrawn for military operations generally; -The meat consumers of tho country were reduced, by this i number, and tlie Army and Navy were i, being fed on frozen' meat._ With the abundance of Home supplies, and at i"\ -the same time the advice that there was considerable delay in the ship- ! ' me'nts of frozen meat from Australia j and New Zealand, no strong exception ' was'taken to Mr. Boys's action immediately lie joined the Food Controller's ! office of stopping the release t>f frozen meat. Supplies, therefore, ceased to -be given out in the middle of October. The'colonial meat was controlled by the Board of Trade, and the meat not - required by the military authorities was ; released to the agents nominated by the I shippers in the- colony,' on the strict understanding that they had to be distributed through the usual channels in an. equitable manner to meet the requirements of the trado throughout the country. The regulations which had ■ , -been imposed by the Food Controller ! i ' were to pool the whole of the_ miantities to firms who might or might not he interested in frozen meat, and who ! ' certainly would not buy New Zealand frozen meat when- Homo or foreign supplies were available. The identity, of the New Zealand trade would be on- \ tirely lost, and firms who had establish- \ ed".a regular trade in New Zealand Vv lambs would be forced o.ut of business. This was possible simply from the fact that it had to 1 e centrally controlled with an absolute disregard of the requirements of any individual, the controlling body receiving 2J- per cent. '■ without any cost whatever for distribution.. It was therefore of vital importance ttoit the New Zealand shippers should insist that the contract ■' i entered into with the Imperial Government, "that meat not required for ' military purposes should be distributed ' through tho usual channels," was adhered to. The South American shippers entered into a contract with the stipulation that 20 per cent, of the whole l shipments were to be free for ' sale through the usual channels, and I insisting that this could not be departed from. The South American firms , were mostly -foreign. All agents, handling frozen meat had expressed their willingness to work in with the requirements of the Food Controller as long as New Zealand interests were protected. The chairman (Mr. J. A. M'Leavey) 1 said he 'did not think they could do better, than, insist on having the usual channels for the distribution of their surplus frozen meat. Mr! Balsillie said they would always have a grievance until the farmers insisted ~oiv handling the meat' from the time it left the farm until it reached the consumer. The matter should be 'discussed by the Provincial -Conference to see if they could get the freezing companies to combine to handle the meat, as at the present time the ..middlemen 4 were getting all the profit. Mr. Vile said, that this was a big question, and it was not for them to jass any resolution concerning it that day. He certainly thought it should ! he discussed :it tho Provincial Conference to see if a scheme could be arrived at to have the nomination system carried out. . He moved that a remit 1 to discuss the matter he forwarded to ! the Provincial Conference. This i was agreed t0.:;.,/v.