MEAT POSITION.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 March 1921, Page 5

MEAT POSITION.

BRIGHTER PROSPECTS AHEAD. “That was one of the most heart-' ening speeches that we heard for some time,” said Mr. W. A. Banks, the chairman of the executive of the North Canterbury Farmers’ Union at Christchurch. He referred to remarks by Mr. David Jones, M.P., on the meat situation. Mr. Jones stated, in his address, that tha members of his party had got togeimer at the opening of the session, with a view to ascertaining the position of the meat question. He was able to place some of the facts before the meeting. The whole situation regarding freight had been carefully reviewed. Efforts had been made by the Prime Minister to get a reduction on freights. This had been done on most lines, but not on frozen meat. Negotiations were still in jjear enormous quantities of frozen moat were sent Home. The stores in New Zealand and Great Britain' were crowded with carcases. There hrd been a tremendous accumulation of meat. He was able to say that, by the e>d of the month, .the whole of that meat would have gone into consumption. .That was ascertained at the conference. A voice: This month?

Mr. Jones’. By the.end of April all the mutton and lamb will have been in consumption. I do not speak of beef, of which large supplies are being sent from South America. He was referring te Great Britain only, said Mr. Jones. In addition to the 'meat from New Zealand. there were large quantities of American meat which was being absorbed by the markets, without reduction of prices. The prospect, so far as Australia was concerned, was that there was no chance of their shipping but a very small quantity of meat this year. Thus New’ Zealand w r as faced with‘the opening of the market, with practically no exportation from Australia of mutton and lamb, and a clear market for its own meats.

At the present time there were 22 ships in New Zealand waters loading, unloading and to arrive. The time taken to unload ships at the present time was recognised as the worst in thejworld. Six ships w'hich should have sailed in January were not gone yet; seven ships which should have sailed in February were still here. Thus, 13 vessels with prdbably £1,600,000 wdrth of meat on board, -were unable to leave the Dominion—moat upon which the pro'dueers could have drawn. One vessel w r as 99 days in New Zealand, another 77—both before the strike occurred. Wften discussing the freight problems it was just as well to see the position of the freezing companies. Boats which were able to do two and a half journeys annually to Great Britain and back were now doing only one and a quarter. He was not defending the shipping companies, said Mr. Jones, but it was just as well to keep those facts in view’. Another fact, ascertained from advices coming forward to one of the biggest meat companies in the North Island, was that the demand for frozen meat in England to-day fa; exceeded the pre-war demand. This bore out his previous statement. Beef was in large supply, and this, of course, affectedr the market to some ex'tent. In 1910, in England, there were 31,000,000 live sheep; in 1914, there were 27.700,000; in 1920, 23,'300.000. The English flocks had been decreasing by three-quarjterH of a million sheep a year, which, of course, gave them that- number less to kill. The prospect for export to England thus looked satisfactory. Present market advices were that the maximum rates (fixed by the British Government) were easily obtainable. Mr. Massey had tried to get the control lifted as fap as New Zealand meat was concerned, and was very hopeful to get* the maximum price lifted, thus giving the market freedom. The conclusion the conference had arrived at was that there seemed no justification for the drop, in prices. There seemed to be a loss of confidence and faith in England —possibly on account of the depression and unemployment—in the minds of the advisers of the meat companies in the Old Country, regarding the likelihood of .the New Zealand meat market, keeping firm. They appeared to think that a drop in New Zealand meat w*as bound to take place. On the facts, it seemed difficult to see how this idea had arisen. On the evidence adduced for the conference, it was decided that there would be no over-supply of 'meat in England at any period of this year. Meat going Home would probably be consumed as fast as it arrived. This should have a steadying influence on the market. It was for the farmers themselves to decide what they intended to do. Prices might continue as high, or go higher. There was no certainty of a drop, and where a man’s finances were good enough, he considered that it would be a pity to sacrifice stock.