SLUMP IN MEAT.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 March 1921, Page 4

SLUMP IN MEAT.

A MOST SERIOUS POSITION. interesting opinions. WELLINGTON Mar. 22. j “The position is a most serious one,'’; gaid a will-known Wairarapa stock breeder to a “New Zealand limes 10presentative who .was endeavouring to get some first hand information regarding the sudden and sensation drop in the prices of heel and mutton. “It is about the most serious position we have been called upon to face for some considerable time,” he continued. “Certainly the prices have been gradually declining, so that many of us who looked ahead could see a substantial reduction coming, but I certainly did not anticipate that the bottom would drop right out of the market as apparently it has done.

DROr GENERAL. “Advices received hv me are to lie effect that the drop has- been general throughout the Dominion. There habeen a fall of £2 per 1001 b m beef and a drop of 80s per carcase in the price of mutton—l am speaking of prime wethers. As a matter of fact, the drop in beef lias been as much as 4bs to 4is Gd per 1001 b in some districts, while in

some isolated districts sheep have been and are being almost given away. This latter condition, however, has not a general application—were such a slump to spread throughout New Zealand there would be financial chaos. •‘ln some of the blast Coast districts the position has been rendered more acute by the shortage of feed and the shipping hold up, which care at a particularly bad time for the breeders of cattle and sheep." ‘'The drop has been a substantial one," said the “Times" man. •‘Well, I should say it has," was the emphatic rejoinder. ‘Substantial’! I don't, think the word truly expresses the opinion. When you consider that beef lias receded from C'3 os per 100 H). —1 am speaking of the highest pri ;e for choice and prime ox to 17s fki and mutton from £2 os to less than £1

you will «V that tlio word ‘substantial’' scarcely docs the position justice. TITF CAUSES. “As to the causes. They are many and varied. First and foremost cones tbu fact that the demand for beef and mutton for export suddenly •cani(. to an end. and the usual buyers disappearin'; from our sales. This was due to the fact that there have been vast accumulations and cold storage arcommodation is at a premium. The condition of the Home market has been most unsatisfactory. and there is little demand at present for either our mutton or beef. The state of the money market has also been against us. there is a shortage of feed in some districts due to the drought, and there have also been some experiments made in the way of shipment.; to America, regal'l- - which the truth has not yet been told. Tn a few days I may have some interesting information on this matter I for readers of the ‘Times.’ THE RETAILER. “DAYS OF H 101! PRICES KXPI\O.”I •‘Yes, it is <]uit t > .a pleasure to see i prices coming down to something like . a decent level,’’ said a. retailer who was asked by the “Times” man to stale bis side of tbe ease. ! "Mutton at Id per lb. and beef at fid give a family man*a chance to buy decent meat for dinners at less than 7s Gd a time. T know that after the big prices the farmers have been receiving for beef and mutton they will not relish it, hut something had to go. The world could not continue to live on inflated prices, and th 0 break came in the meat prices first. You will see that this is but the commencement of a break in prices all round. You might be inclined to laugh, but believ ( . me few retail butchers —and I should say this refers to retailers generally—derired much pleasure in charging such prices as w ( , were compelled to charge for meat. High prices mean dissatisfied and constantly grumbling customers. It is far better to have fair prices and satisfied customers than live in a perpetual state of antagonism. Things will surely readjust themselves soon. The days of high prices are coming to an end, and I for one, am not sorry.’’