BELGIUM AS A MARKET FOR FROZEN MEAT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1744, 19 January 1888, Page 4

BELGIUM AS A MARKET FOR FROZEN MEAT.

By the courtesy of Mr Alexander Beck, Belgian Consul at Christchurch, there has been forwarded to us, and to other j ournals m the colony, a very interesting letter by that gentleman on the subject of Belgium as a market for New Zealand frozen meat. Mr Beck commences by observing lhat " when the preserved meat trade was pushed tome time ago it did not spread so much m fifteen years as the frozen: tneat trade has done during the last fifteen months/ and he adduces as a reason for the rapid growth of the demand for frozen meat, as against that for meat preserved by the tinning process, the fact that people " have never considered preserved meat as good as fresh/ while (m Europe, at anyrate) frozen meat is accepted as fresh, because duly is levied upon it by the several Governments equally with freshly slaughtered meat. He points out that the use of the tinned meat has been limited to armies, navies, and public institutions, and further, that m England itself tinned meat has never been sold m butchers' shops, but only m those of grocers and produce merchants, this circumstance clearly showing that it occupies a recognised place among preserved provisions rather than lhat of ordinary flesh food. The duly imposed by the Belgian Government on frozen meat for inland consumption is stated to be 15 centimes per kilogramme (a little less than per lb), but Mr Beck adds that refrigerated stores or chambers are considered as bonded stores, and that the meat stored therein for the continental trade is free of Belgian duties. If, therefore, appears that meat sent through and distributed from Belgium is not subject to duty, while as regards that intended for consumption within Belgium, it is pointed out that the inland duty (which is lower than m other European countries) will notaffect the trade, inasmuch as the effect ot the duty has been to increase ihe price of butchers meat all round. Not only is all frozen meat subjected to sanitary inspection m Belgium, but a process is m operation whereby the meat is properly thawed and dried, so that it becomes m better condition for forwarding long distances by rail than freshly-slaughtered meat, and m a dry place can be kept eight days or more. Again, it appears that there are special facilities afforded for the transportation of the meat. Mr Beck says: — "The Belgian railways, the refrigerating companies and ice-works have built special ' cars for the inlpnd and outland direct traffic from Antwerp to every part of Europe. The cars are kept dry and at an even temperature by ice and some automatic valves." As regards the facilities for distirbution, we are told that 'Marge agencies and retail shops are established m several countries by a company known as Fnzorifbes d' Anvers which " dees not deal on its own account, except with the War Office or public bodies, buying m large quantities.. It takes only storage fees and a commission of two per cent, to guarantee the payments. The actual fees or charges m Belgium vary wilh the quantity entered m the refrigerators or cold rooms ; for instance, forty tons of meat or more pays^i 12s per ton for the first five weeks, and 4s for every week over that time. This includes the reception on board, the cartage, the storage with light, and the delivery on trucks or cars m Antwerp." Mr Beck points out as one of the advantages of sending meat to the Belgian mark.et that consignors may depend upon its being "s Did with, their brand or trade mark mentioned, with the name of the country it comes frorq, as it is actually done for the consignments of the Argentine Republic and from London. Several consignments come from this last place, but the sheep are all sent and sold as English. It is impossible to know if there are some of them genuine New Zealand or not." He adds that his great desire is to see New Zealand sheepowners and Refrigerating Companies deal directly with Belgium, to which country large consignments from North and, specially, South America are regularly made, and be intimates bis willingness to leave temporarily his -family m New Zealand, and offers his own services and knowledge of foreign languages to accompany any direct invoice to Antwerp, either alone, or with the consignors, an offer which we hope will be accep-.ed, and that the result will be the opening up of a direct trade between New Zealand anl Belgium, which will afford for our meat producers a steady, reliable, and profitable market.