WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 31 August 1927, Page 1

WELLINGTON NEWS

OUTLETS FOR FROZEN MEAT. (Special to *’ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON, Aug. 30. The Chairman of the New Zealand Af;eat Producers’ Board, Air 1). Jones, in bis review of the meat trade last week stated that tho Board was endeavouring to develop regular trade with tho East and West Coasts of North America, and mentioned that it wu.s worth while to cultivate the American market in order to take advantage of the present embargo on South American shipments to the United States on account of foot and mouth diseases. Trial shipments of lambs, wethers, ewes and beef had also been sent to New York. New Zealand lamb and mutton had also been on the New York market off and on for some time and so far there has not been any prospect of a trade with that port developing. It is a mistake to suppose that a market exists in the United States for our frozen meat. That country can supply her own requirements for a long time to (ome. According to Air Robert J, McFall, Research Professor of Agricultural Economics, in the Massachusetts Agricultural College, the United States should lie able to supply its own requirements until the population, which at present is in the neighbourhood of 120,000.900, reaches 200.000,000. He states that the idea is frequently advanced that the continued advance of the human population in the United States will cause a large proportion of the land to he used for the production of food directly available for human consumption. At present only about two-tenths of the land under crops is used for the production of human food.. About one-tenth is used for tho production of non-food crops, such as tobacco, cotton and flax. The remaining seven-tenths of tiie crop land produces feed for live stock-. The best evidence available indicates that the population of the United States is not likely soon to exceed 2(40.000,000. and the land of the country can readily support this number by the application of better farming practices, without giving up tho relative importance of Its meat production. Animal husbandry in the United States is definitely turning more and more to dependence on cultivated forage crops rather than native pastures. Beef and liog products are tiie meats preferred in tho United States and those are the meats that we cannot supply in any quantity. Occasional shipments of mutton and lambs may he profitably marketed in New York, hut the idea of a regular trade with the United States may lie regarded as a dream. It serves however to make up a pleasant paragraph in a report. There is not much hope either of doing business with Canada, and Britain will continue ’to he our largest and most dependable market. WOOL VALUES. Dealing with wool, Mr Jones said that a substantial improvement in values must yet be looked for before pre-war level was reached having regard to the increased cost of production. Tf this means anything at all it moans that because costs of production in New Zealand have been artificially raised through tho operations of the Arbitration Court, the Customs Tariff, and heavy, taxation, therefore the wool-buyers in Europe and the United States must pay us more money so that we may make a profit notwithstanding our inflated cost. That is an absurd position to take up. The wool users arc not concerned with our costs hut with theii own, and they buy our wool at prices that leave them a profit on turnover. IT our costs of production are excessive, and of that there is no doubt, it is our duty to reduce our costs. Those 'who look for rising prices in the new season will be very seriously disappointed; there will be fluctuations in prices, lmt the tendency will bo downward. A. much saner view of the situation was taken by tho Chaiimim of tho Cheltenham Co-operative Daily Company, who told the suppliers when addressing them at the annual meeting last week that it did not appear that very much improvement m the prices of our products is likely, as tho supplies from most of the producing countries are increasing and competition is becoming keener. Tiie solution is to be found not in higher selling values but in lower production (OStS.