MEAT IN BRITAIN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 259, 17 January 1941, Page 8

MEAT IN BRITAIN

ALTERATION IN THE TRADE

WARTIME MEASU IIES

A complete revolution of the mar- j kebing of home-killed stock has , taken place in Britain's meat trade ■ since the outbreak of the war. Two New Zealanders who have , made important contributions to the new scheme are Mr H. S. E. Turnn er. director of home-killed meat sup plies, and Mr R. S. Forsyth, director of imported meat' both of whom are now Avorking at the M!inistrj r of Food, Until the war, Mr Forsyth Avas London manager of the New Zealand Meat Board, and Mr Turner was manager of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company. Briefly, the practice in Britain before the Avar Avas for the butcher *o buy fat cattle, sheep and pigs from the fanners:, and to have the stock prepared at slaughter houses for hi.? shop. To-day, however,, as the Ministry is the only buyer of fat stock and imported meat, this practice no longer operates. Fewer Slaughter Houses. Before the Avar, 16,000 slaughter houses Avere operating in Britain, but for various reasons of economy and distribution the Ministry is us-! ing only 850 houses. Not unnaturally, this decision met Avith a strong protest from the houses Avliose services were not required,, and there was a period when it became a political question. The new scheme has also meant that a number of Avholesale distributors haA'e been run out of business for the duration of the Avar. In the same Avay, the importers no longer operate as individual firms, but have also been formed into an association. They handle the meat on its arriA r al in British ports, arrange for storage, and for the des- ' patch to the selling depots throughout the country.

Some idea of the magnitude of the operations of the Ministry can be gauged from the fact that the prewar turnover of meat in Britain, both home-killed and imported, was over 2,000,000 tons a year: its value was over £150,(100,000. To-day the Ministry of Food is the largest trading concern in the world.

New Zealand Trade. So far as New Zealand meat is concerned, it is bought according to grade, but on arrival in Britain there is no differentiation. To save storage, all lambs are being bulk stored, 110 matter what their country of origin. There is- one price for lamb,, and another for ewe and wether mutton. All the Ministry's

purchases arc based on pre-war grades and relative values. "To-day, it is just as important as ever for New Zealand to maintain her grading system to keep up her wonderful reputation for quality," Mr Forsyth said, when discussing New Zealand supplies. "Although all the meat) may be bulk stored, New Zealand lamb is still I branded on each joint, and will be easily identified." Mr Forsyth said that one of tflie most pleasant duties he had on taking over liis position at the Ministry at the outbreak of the war was to cable to the New Zealand Government to inform them that quotas -were abandoned, and to arrange the transport of 1.j000,000 carcases that would have been held in the Dominion had a quota operated.