Tallow Exports Criticised by National Member

Lake County Mail, Issue 26, 19 November 1947, Page 7

Tallow Exports Criticised by National Member

The tallow position required a good deal of clearing up because of so much misapprehension among the general public, said Mr T. L. Macdonald (National, Wallace), speaking in the House of Representatives. Collections of tallow had been made from »i>t#me to time in different towns for the Aid to Britain campaign and so on. Householders had gone to a great deal of trouble to render fat down and make a good job of it under the impression that it was going over- * seas as edible fat, whereas it was doing nothing of the sort. He understood that fat was being sold to butchers’ byproducts companies and other similar concerns handling tallow in a commercial way. Britain ■ was certainly being aided, because the money was being devoted to the purchase of parcels. The fat j' itself was., being lumped in with bulk supplies of byproducts companies and was going overseas as non-edible fat. No doubt it was welcome when it arrived there because tallow was something of which Britain was very short. Tallow Wasted in New Zealand On farms in New Zealand tallow was being wasted simply because it did not pay to save it. The discrepancy between the price paid here and the price paid overseas for tallow was very great. In. New Zealand currency the market price of tallow on the Home market was over £IOO a ton. In New Zealand the byproducts companies and freezing companies were paid about £37 a ton for the same tallow. Purchases had amounted to £679,889 and the sales'* had gone to nearly £1,300,000. Of that difference a sum was paid into the ■ Meat Stabilisation Account and some was paid into the meat pool. Fat collected from householders was being sold to butchers’ -byproducts companies, freezing works and so on and in turn was bought by the Government. The Government had made a profit on it and some of that profit went back to the Meat Stabilisation Account and the meat pool. Another feature that called for comment was that the accounts showed that £7946 was allowed for distribution and handling. The Revenue Account disclosed a net surplus of £5705. What happened to that? The Tallow Account had a credit balance at July, 1945, of £4885. The net surplus at July, 1946, was £5705 but the £4885 had been paid to the War Expenses Account. Why should that be?