THAT MEAT MUDDLE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3484, 12 May 1920, Page 7

THAT MEAT MUDDLE.

GR AZIERS H ARD HIT.

\\'l.LL C,‘O;\[P‘l:l'l‘E A(‘:;»\l_.\“'.\"Ti‘ .\ (Hi 'l'

V;-11'_ying conlmcxrts arc l‘.\Zpl'(‘>'~.\'L‘d 0115 the news that the prico of meat in! Great Britain and America is to (101110! down. ‘The man who has boun p:1yix1;:; more than he thinks the‘ meat is \\'m'th ! —owing. -of course, to“thc zu"tificinlly—maintained pric‘el< in the Old C(mntl-y —-is pleased to think that :1 brick or

two is being knocked off the wall of high prices that has been built up‘ under war conditions. The gr:l'/flier is; I':l'ther gluni. From his point of view, the British Goverunient has not llaml~ '| led the situation properly. The Food Controller is now d’oin-g what the New ‘ Zealand people interested in meat have been iniploring him to do any time 5 these past twelve months. It. was perfectly obvious to colonial experts that there must. be :1. loss soniewlwre. and on the stockholders’ motto, “Cut your losses; let your profits run on,” they saw thast the most sensible thing to do would be to get the loss over. The British Government during the V\‘:ll'. was compelled to encourage the [.‘.1’0(l1l(3llOT1 of every ounce of food in Great Britain. and was under the necessity of guaranteering a certain. price for every pound pro(luce<_l. When ‘the war ended it was obvious that lmoney must be lost somewhere, but

the Government kept hanging -on to its accumulated stocks of imported moat

rather than let it, enter into competiLioii ’with the high-priced home—gl'own article. “in the long run,” said an i-\ile.h|:lm,l niitliorily in close touch with .‘,"l‘il’/.ie)'.\t' interest.~', “the British Government stzilifls to lose more on its colonial inc-at than if it had our the‘ original loss and spread it, Over :1‘ longer period.” He Won't on to remark that the present position into which mzitt-ers had been brought hy the British Govel'nlnent.’s action. \\'Ullit.i “hit; the New Zealand gruzier h.:u'd.” 'l‘lle G'oV'el'nn'len‘t ‘s requisition of meat would end on June 30th next, :I.lld present intliczitious were that it was. ex; tl‘eniel_§' unlikely that. it would be continued._ Tll-.ll’ meant that the New Zea--3hlml grower would now have to go on 7 ‘gthe open 111:11'ket. Illlfl compete aguiiisti‘ ‘tlwse -l()\\f-pl’[‘iC€.(l (E-o\'e‘ruuie‘nt. stocks, 1 which had been zitztziniiiiilattingj for such :1. length of time. “We .<zl\\' ‘that it less l‘.\‘:ls inevitable, and now -‘when the i.Britisll Government: llarf m_‘np:n'elltl_\f i I'enlised. the hole it has got itself into, lthe glut of meat will have an injui-~ ‘ ions effect on one -of the most import;ant exports of the Dominion.” 1 To the mun in the street the imlne(li--{ate rt:-Itail price of his ehop or s’re:lh 113 the only point in the eont.rotenq).<

that: (:nunl:~‘. From inquiries niudv tlli.~< I.‘.m‘ning ii (lOL‘tS 1101’ Sooll] li,liCl‘§' tlml‘. the pi‘i.c(::s locally; will few] the ('ll’oul' until next. spring. Gl':l'/..iol‘s will xnzllu; a [mini of geltin-g 2'llly surplus stock into the ‘freezing \\'ol'l<s before the win‘rm' gels in, whivh will clear tllmn for t!u'- present sou.<on. This niozms ‘that the supply for the winter fl'(‘.sll linmxt marker will be norinul, and. The

drop in prices probably will not I'czlch the hou.<eholdm‘ until. the beginnin;;' of next season. No one seeg; by Hm “.'\.'l'al"-' \\’:l;~' brave enough tow slxggo.<l“\\'ll:lt the extent of ‘rho drop would be; but perlmps if we ‘c:lko :1 line fronl the drop in the (,)Id_(‘.o\lm'l'y we will no? be far \vl‘ong_ L

Both tlm .:\.l'lnag'll and the 'b1lIll".'Oll{ sailed direct from New Zoalzxml. The S{ll“rcy bogixnwirlg of next month for Boston and New York, aml other ships on ‘the berth for the same ports will be the Sonwrscf :1t"rl1c. end of .Tuilo, and oitlior the Devon or the Sussex at the (‘ml of Jllly. $0 that it looks as tlrough nu efi'ol-f was lmilng rnzulv to do :<omc~ fhing to relieve the present (5011,'-__"P.ST(‘(,I stnfol of the froezin_r_: w01'l~:s slorvs in Nan" PI:-:11:1ml.-—-§\m:klnml Star‘.