MEAT AGREEMENT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 353, 14 October 1932, Page 6

MEAT AGREEMENT

IMPORT RESTRICTIONS Dealing with the agreement in regard to meat, Mr. Coates stated that this proceeded along new lines, but the genetal poliey pursued was the same as that in regard to other products — to secure for the Dominion and Home producer, an inereased and assured share of the United Kingdom market at remunerative prices. The outstanding fact to note in connection with the United Kingdom meat market was the vast and abnormal inerease in supplies. With the closing or curtailment of important European markets, supplies which they normallv absorbed had been di-

verted to the United Kingdom. Particularly had this been true of pig products,. and indeed their inerease had been sufficient of itself to aceouni for the collapse in meat prices. Bacon Imports The following figures of bacon imports into the United Kingdom foi the past two years showed the extent of the inerease: — 1929 8,278,100cwts. 1931 1 1,137, 800cwts. Incrbase ... 2.859,700cwts. Take the estimate that 2Glb of bacon (bcneless meat) was equal to oue Inrrb, tue inerease in bacon in t"a*o years was equal to 16,000,000 carcases of lamb, or equal to the whole of the lamb imported into the United Kingdom from all sources«in 1931. The result had been that the meat market had been broken by this deluge of baeon imports. New Zea land did not export bacon, but theinerease in bacon supplies had broken the market for all meat. The following figures summarisecl

the estimated imports of meat from all sources into the United Kingdom in the years 1930 and 1931: — 1930 1931 Beef ... 11,578,000 11,982,000 Mutton and Lamb 6,383,000 7,107,000 Pig Products 10,546,000 12,331,000 Totals 28,507,000 31,420,000 These figures, showing a steep inerease, refleeted not the norma) course of trade, but the distress and forced offering of abnormal supplies at prices regardless of the cost of production. Even at the low prices that had prevailed, it had been impossible to absorb the greatly inereased volume of supplies. Abnormal Measures To cope with these abnormal conditions, abnormal measures were clearly necessary. New Zealand sought, as a long-term measure., a preferential position in the United Kingdom market, to be secured by means of a tariff on foreign supplies, with free entry for the. products of the Dominions. To supplement this, as an emergency measure, New Zealand suggested the imposition of a quota against foreign supplies. At the present time, the meat imports of the United Kingdom have the following origin: — Foreign, 76 per cent.; Empire, 24 per cent. New Zealand's contention had been that there was ample scope for increasing the Dominions' share, and this was not disputed. Moreover, the New Zealand proposals were acce.pted a :> the basis of the agreed requests advaneed on behalf of all dominions 0 the United Kingdom. Tariff on Foreign Meat His Majesty's Government in the Ua .ted Kingdom were unable to accode to the request for a tariff on ~ ji-eign meat. The statement, widely przhlishecl in New Zealand, that fehoy were prepared to impose such a tariff, and that it was rejccted by us was contrary to fact. At no 1 me were the United Kingdom rerresentatives at Ottawa prepared tc« contemplate a tariff on meat. While unable to impose a tariff on foreign meat, the Government of the United Kingdom were prepared, and, .u-Jeed, in the interests of their own eroducers they were determined, to apply a seheme for the regulation of imports. The objective of the seheme as expressed in our agreement was a twofold one: To raise ihe priee of meat to a remunerative level, and to progressively inerease tho share of the Home producer and the Dominions, in the United Kingdom market. So far as pig products are concerned — in which New Zealand was interested as a potential exporter, and by reason of the bearing of these products on the meat market generally — finality had not been reaehed. At the moment the whole situation was being surveyed by a commission specially set up for the purpose in the United Kingdom. But New Zealand was assured that a substantial reduction would be made in imports of foreign bacon supplies and that the Dominions would acquire an increasing share in the United Kingdom market. Mutton and Lamb Mutton and lamb were the meat products in which New Zealand was most directly interested at the moment; and as shown by the figures already quoted, recent increases in the supply on the United Kingdom market had exceeded the capacity of the market to absorb them. The competitors of the British Dominions were mainly the South American republics. Their mutton and lamb exports to the United Kingdom, whilo substantial in volume, did not constltute a large proportion of their total meat exports; they were. interested mainly in chilled beef, and in this line our southern Dominions were unable to compete. By the agreement at Ottawa, His Majesty's Government in'the United Kingdom agreed to reduce the im"sorts of foreign mutton and lamb by the following percentage, as compared with the total for the twelve months ending June 30, 1932: —

Quarter Ending per cent. March 31, 1933 10 June 30, 1933 15 September 30, 1933 ... ... 20 Deeember 31, 1933 25 March 31, 1934 30 June 30, 1934 35 Thereafter the reduction would be )ot less than 35 per cent. for the i-eriod of the Ottawa agreement, i.e., for five years. Foreign frozen beef was to be subiect to the same percentage reducUons as those just mentioned. Chillbeef imports from foreign sources ve to be regulated so that no in--acuSe beyond the quantity. for the ; ear ending June 30, 1932, would be .•ermitted. Estimates Given No reduction was to be imposed on any exports from New Zealand. New Zealand had, however, agreed to give early in eaeh export season, a reliable estimate of exports by we-ght of mutton and lamb. In consultation with the representatives of the New Zealand Meat Producers'

Board, the delegation had given an estimate for the season which is just commencing. It was manifestly fair as between one Dominion and ariother tions should apply to all, and the Ottawa agreements satisfi'ed this requirement. We were not to exceed the estimate given. It was impossible for anybody mathematically to caleulate the precise effect on prices which would result from regulation of supplies. But it could be assumed that such regulation would tend to raise prices to a remunerative level. The United : Kingdom Government were able, in accordance with the agreement, to safeguard the interests of consumers, and the plan adopted would, it was believed, be beneficial to producers without detriment to consumers.