FOOD PRICES.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 January 1925, Page 4

FOOD PRICES.

[Reuters Telegrams.J

LORD YESTY’S VERSION; LONDON, Jan. 2i. Lord Yestev, giving evidence before bo Food Commission, stated the Union Cold Storage Coy. owned about 150,000 cattle in South America, South Africa and Australia. Alost of the cattle weie in the Northern Territory of Australia, where, at present they had over 00,000 cattle ready for killing, but wore i liable to kill them owing to the excessive cost of labour and other handling conditions. Consequently the meat worm: at Port Darwin have been closed for three years. Tt is a criminal situation that n’t present it is more profitable to let the cattle die on the stations than put them through the Port Dar tin meat works. Lord Vcsty said that vast, resources were lost to the Empire for three rears largely owing to the apparent

indifference of all concerned. Y hcn operating the works they complained to the Australian Government of the ruinous conditions, but the labour ci nditions throughout Australia were then so serious that tho Government could do nothing. They were not blaming

the Australian Government. They wove the only people who had ever made a serious effort to develop the cattle industry in the Northern Territory, and if given real support by Australia there was no place in the British Empire where the expenditure of a portion ol the million sterling of the Government subside to the Colonies could result ill such an immediate return in the form

of an increase in the bool export. Lord Yestev, continuing, said that they had worked for the British public during the last six months for nothing. There was no shortage of cold storage in Britain. The allegation that owing to Vestcy’s interest in cold storage bacon "'ns rotting, on the Quays at Liverpool, this was a downright lie and the statement that the excessive cold storage charges was one of the principal causes of the rise m the price of meat was absurd. The Company’s 2.Rod retail butchers shops in Britain showed a profit . of under one half-penny per pound without allowing interest on capital or depreciation. The cause of Hie increase in the mice of meat was the price paid to the grower, amounting in the case of Colonial mutton- and lambs to over one hundred per cent. Lord Yestv mentioned that during the last season thev worked the Darwin works, the cost of operating aiul tlie packing of the meat t.o.h, sLamoi. was over £lO per head as compared 3,35 sin the River Platte, owing to the fact of wages in Australia .K>ine- high, hours shorter, and the work m 7t SO good. He declared there was an absolutely free market lor cattle. a accusation that W-toy’s controlled t « price of meat was absurd and wholly untrue. Thev were unable, m any "n> ■ to control prices. It was solely a qw -- lion of supply and demand. Ihe root cause of the ~resent price ol beef which was fairly cheap, as on'uimiod with other commodities, was that Continent was now taking urge quantities which were equal to about I. 000 cattle in 192-1 as compared will. nothing in pre-war times, there was nI) absolute shortage ol meat, and >m likelihood of lower average prices m tho near futuro.

FURTHER EVIDENCE. LONDON, January 21. Commissioner Culler, at the food Commission, pointed out that thoie was little cause lor complaint about the a.Lance of the South American beef above the pre-war prices. The complaint- centred around the Australian and New Zealand mutton and lamb Hie prices for which were now double the pre-war levels. Sir Gordon Campbell attended again, and said that alter careful perusal ol the report of bis previous evidence, be was not satisfied with bis own replies, though these were accurate so Inr as they went: hut lie was afraid that lie had not fully understood all the questions. He now realised that lie should previously have lequested a private session ol the ('ommissinu. The A onimti'isiou privately examined Sir G. Campbell and both the \ esteys. Mi IV ,1 U"cl', genera 1 no'icgci of ,p„ r t, ~j London Authority, said the Authority were now considering the advisableness of reducing the storage , barges. He added that, there was no monopoly of cold storage in London. 'Jim Port Authority owned about ‘>o per cent of the storage space. LONDON, January 21. Before the Eood Commission Lord Yestev said that in view of the continuous attacks upon those in the meat trade by the British and the Dominion Press lie welcomed the opportunity of pointing out the small profit margin on which their business was conducted. Sir Edmund Yestev quoted Ml 11. P. William's report (for private circulation in Australia) dealing with the conditions in the Argentine, lie pointed out that Mr Williams did not seek information from a single British linn j„ the Argentine. The whole of his informants were connected with the American Meat Trust, lie added that the Yestev concerns had not replied to the attacks in the Press, of which hundreds bad appeared in New Zealand. In view of the evidence now offered to the Commission, it would be a nice thing, witness added, if the Commission were to give us a clean

character. _ Sir K‘. Geddes (Chairman) said: lie will see what we will do! Replying to the Commissioners, Veslov Brothers admitted that the high labour costs at Darwin related exclusively to the war years, and they admitted that they had partly been due to the fact, that the operations there were necessarily seasonal. The workers had to he taken to and from Darwin and from and to the South. They said iheir firm only handled twenty per cent of the Argentine meat exports.