EXCESS OF SUPPLIES.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3469, 24 April 1920, Page 7

EXCESS OF SUPPLIES.

WORLD "'8 FROZEN ;\IEA’J_“

Vigorous criticism of the Food Ministry’s policy of COllS:‘:l".'§l|.f_{ stocks of frozen meat, is the ]:rillc§l;-:11 feature {of Weddell"s ~l'-2'v'l-aw or vthe £‘rozen meat trade for 1919. This authoritative publication, which is dated Fcbru~ my 27, insists that the official estimates of a shortage are wholly mistaken.

Di-‘SC-11S'Si11g the general outlook from the point of view of the United King- a dam, the review says:—--“-Gontrol, and that alone, keeps prices at their pm. sent high level. Supplies -are.'availglble at over their pre-war level, while consumption has fallen oif ‘byinearly’ one- 1 third. The immediate problem now is 1 not how ‘to secure supplies, but ‘how! to get rid of them. Until the demand is i augmented by the only means known to traders———a material reduction in ‘prices~little 01‘ no relief can be looked for. Hitherto the Government has declined to adopt 'tTl'is remedy, fearing to face -heavy losses on their Austra-E lian and New Zealand purchases. Swaycd by inexpcrt advice, they have { preferred to hold firmly to high prices, I even though ‘this has involved, and is * still involving, heavy deururr-age on ships, with prolonged storage and interest charges. Such a course might be justified if future supplies slrowed any likelihood of falling oil’, or it‘ consumption could be relied upon to recover its former dimensions; but {neither of these eouling'en§;ie:-3 is in sight * “Every week witnesses an aggravation in the accumulafion of imported étocks, which at the end of the year exceeded 100,000 tons in store, with 40,000 T-uns additional on board vessels avsaiting discharge. Even the ter’mination of the Govcrnment’s purchasing in South America on December 31 cannot materially alter things, as shipments will apparently continue to be made as freely as forfnerly, but on account of the factories, instead of on Government account.

“MORE OR LESS STALE STOCKS” “Everything points to lower prices being forced upon the Government for their more 01' less stale" Australian and New Zealand stockisi, in competition with the fresh goods coining from South America.

“World wide conditions of supply and demand have to be considered. It is not enough to look only at the position of nfi'airs in the United Kingdom. But whether the local or the wider view be taken, ‘the prospect is the snme———supplies in excess of the demand. The world’s output of frozen meats before the war was 707,000 tons, and this sufiiced for the needs of the United Kingdom (720,000 tons), the Continent of Europe (22,000 tons), and other mzirkets (25,000 tons). Now that peace conditions are practically reestablished, the British eivilizin con: sumption is found to have shrunk during the past five years from 720,000 tons to about 500,000 tons per annum, Fso that even on :1 pro-War rate of impol"E;.ltion would be much in exicessihof requirements. But the \\‘ol'ld'.~‘. freezing works have meantime ilicrea.'<ed in number and capacity, while the supply of refrigerated tonnage has been greatly augmented, so that 1,250,000 't'ons could now be exported annually. Unless, therefore, some vast new market can be develofied outside the United Kingdom to absorb the excess production of something like 500,000 to 750,000 tons beyond this country ’s requirements, there promises to be a surplus of ships and a glut of meat in the near future, ‘

“Traders’ views, Tiowcver, have all along been against the probability of any sensational development of the Continental civilian ‘trade; and certainly the cxpcrience“o'f the past year, and particularly of ‘the last three months, have tended to confirm the unoflicial view. Prejudice on the part of consumers in most. Continental countries, dearth of distributing facilities, but more especially the lack of means to pay for supplies have 00111bined to restrict the amount of business done within comparatively modest dimensions. In aggregate it has not been a factor of any real moment._, so far as the world’s position is concerned. The Continental trade will ex~ pand in the future almost inevitably, but as yet there are no indications whatsoever of its attaining a magnitude which would seriously curtail the supplies needed for the United Kingdom. . PROSPECTS FOR 1920. b “With ample supplies available in the Various producing‘ countries, abundant freight -space, a much curtailed c-onsumptive demand in this country, and no ma'tel'ial exp:u.::<'for; in C‘-ontin~ Blltfll illtlllil'y. the outloTjl{ is full of menace to the producer, and full of hope for the r.:ou.sumer. Apart‘ from the influence of advr-1'59 excllang‘e.~', and rates of freig'ht (inflated under Govel'lm'lent re;:11l:1”tion). t}xe;-(- is no reason why values should not drop nl:lteri:xll_\'; and. even it’ f-(nntrol be kept on for some time ]<nl_<_;‘eu'. ]>ri«~.o_< must be reclweecl in order to bring‘ about the inn,-reasecl wnsuniption needed ‘to (-.'!(—?:n' presollt CiO\'('x‘mnont sup-

plies and prospective imports on their account.” THE NEVV ZEALAND TRADE. Another section of the review deals with the New Zealund industry. Throughout the war New Zvaland, being the most distant IllCat—pl'o(lnwizlg'

country, was the gmzitest from searcity of refrigerated tonnagc,, aggravated in 1918 by the transfer of at number of New Zealand stemners :0 the River Plate trade to ea-I.l'l'_y muchneeded beef ‘cargoes, and to North Aineriea for the transport of Americzm troops and food to" france. These steamers were restored to the New Zealand trade in the middle of 1919, and shipments Were then resumed on 3, large scale, the pl'evnflixlg idea. being‘ to reduce stocks in the Dominion. irrespective. of the capacity of the British m:ll'ket to absorb them on al'l'iv-.11.

Cold storage in New I/.oulzln<_l \\':l;<. in-croa-sed during 1919 from 7,00().0O0 14; 7,500,000 freight c:ll'czlsos, 01' 200.000

tons. equal to the tot‘-211 oX[l()x'fs of 1919 (which constituted a I'o<'(m]). so that there is just" about .<nf’ficimlt

space ’ro carry on ‘tho conning sollson".s' freezing opm'ations, proxjided re:lson~ ably czll'ly relief in fho nuttter of tonnage can be furnished in 1920. This

large reserve of storage. ougllt to prove ur«ef"ul in the futLll'(', by enzlbling s}lippL-rs to spl'ov.d their supplies more equally over the whole _ve:n', un{l 'l'.hu.'< keep fhc-ix" meat. colls~t:ml'l_v upon Hm markets of this collntry, instead of rushing‘ in the gl'e'at bulk of if '.llll‘i.l'lf.{ the first six nnonfiis‘ of the year. its \v:l:< he pl‘acti(-we before the war.

EXTENDING TI-IE RI:‘.QI'IST’!‘.[ON. ~ The Ixnperiul Govnmnnmmf co;1t1':u-1' for the pLll'('hil:=o of ';\'ew Zvalzmd Im}-at_.

which xvas renewed in ,DcCombOl'. 19:18/, expires at June 30,1920. Efforts \\"'ero made ‘by pl'odllc<“n‘s in :tho Dominion to get" it e::tcndo<T for nnotlror _vo:xr on the ground thzrf, until tho_onormous quantities of Govornment-owned 1110211‘ are finally sold and consumed, Vtho sale of their shipments will be prejudiced by the sale of so much stale meat on the market. This m‘gllnlollt, however. would be an over recurring one so long as any control of imports was retain-

0:], (rand (_’i«w.< not C:ll'l'y much !'t‘:l] \\'(-ighl. On tho o':h(-1' hand it is most dctl'im(.-ntul to New Z0:11:111<I'.< in« feresfs whun South .=\lnm‘iC;ln.< and .~:\u::t1':—llizms are allowed to trade in :1 free m:ll'kot for their pmd.Lu3o in ‘this colllltr_y. while ‘.\’(*\\‘ Zoalnmlcws urv Still tied down l_uy (w‘.ovm'nnl(?nt' I'vs‘rri<:Hons.