THE MEAT TRADE

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 150, 21 March 1921, Page 4

THE MEAT TRADE

CONTROL OF EXPORT RESUMED

A COMPLAINT AGAINST VESTEY BROTHERS UNFAIR PRACTICE ALLEGED Important Ministerial statements on the matter of the meat trade and insulated tonnage were the result of a question asked in the House on Saturday by Mr. R. M'Calluni (Wairau). The purport of the question, which was addressed to the Minister of Agriculture, was whether the Government, in view of tho present state of the stock market, would reconsider the decision reached last year to prevent Armour and Company exporting meat. . He asked' whether any middle course could be adopted in order to afford assistance to the producers, and inquired further whether the Government knew the reason for the shipping of New Zealand lamb recently from New York to the London markets. Was it in the nature of a reprisal for the action of the Government? The Hon. W. Nosworthy said that he could sea no reason to alter the decision which the Government had reached with regard to Armour and Co. He had much information in his .possession in regard to the operations of the Meat Trust generally. Up to the present tho question of Armour and Co. exporting meat had not been raised. This firm had been purchasing, and tne meat was held in the stores which it controlled. The result of the operations of the company and others similarly placed up to tlie present was that instead of the price of meat being kept up, the market was as dull as it could be. Tho whole position was being carefully watched by the Government. The purchase of Now Zealand lamb and mutton in New York and its transhipment to London was another proof that the American market had not proved as satisfactory for the exporters as they would have it believed. It supported the contention of the Prime Minister that the Ixmdon market was the one New Zealand should cultivate, and to which the producers must look. The Prime Minister said that he could add a little information of which exporters should be aware. 9he information had come to him the previous ovening that a freezing company which was connected with a shipping company, had not been playing the game in this connection. Members knew at the present time what a tremendous run there was on insulated shipping. About two days ago there were twenty-two ships in New Zealand waters, about to be loaded with meat. ~ That was a very good thing, but it had to be stated that they would not all have been here together had it not been for the recent trouble on the waterfront. This freezing company ha(l control of a certain amount of shipping which came hero to load beef left, over at the end of la'sf "year, which the Government had been told was to bo sold to the European markets. What had been happening in the last day or two was that at least one of these boats, and fle believed two, Fad been loading this season’s new meat at. the works which the company controlled. That was not playing the game. The ships were taking lamb and mutton, not. beef. It was not fair to the other freezing companies or the other shipping companies. , The Government felt it necessary to take immediate action, added Mr. Massey, and had decided Io reinstate tho war regulation, which placed the control of the shipping of meat in the hands of the Minister of Customs. Any freezing company desiring to ship meat would have to arrange with the Tonnage Committee, and then notify tho Minister of Customs of the boat and (he destination of the meat. It would thus he possible to control this sort of thing. The firm was Vestey Bros. They were not going to be allowed to carry on the', way they had been doing for the past few days.