FROZEN MEAT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 984, 26 November 1910, Page 14

FROZEN MEAT.

TRADE WITH GERMANY AND AUSTRIA. 'AN INTERESTING LETTER. Messrs. 'A'. H. Turnbull and Co., grain and produco merchants, of Christckurch, have received from Messrs. W. "Weddel and Co. a copy of a letter addressed by them in Gorman to the press of Germany and Austria. In new of tho recent communications to New Zealand on the' subject of meat importation into, the countries.named, it.will interest our readers to peruse Messrs. AVeddel and Co.'s advices on the subject, as follows: : : ' London, October, 1910. Dear Sir,—Numerous articles appearing in. the' British , papers show, that a very great interest , is being taken in Austria (Germany) in the . subject of opening the. pores of the country to the : importation. of lrojen or rcirigerated meat from -Australasia and the Argentine. The' economic conditions in Austria (Germany) as regards tho food supplies of ilie ■ people appear to. us to, be pretty much what, they were in England .when frozen meat was first introduced' into tbb country just over 25 years .ago. . Tho limits of productiveness of tho country appear to have .been nearly reached, while the demands of the ever-growing .population continue to in-' crease: In these' circumstances, ono of two things ■ must happen. Either . the: people have'to do with less fbod, or supplies must'bo.brought in from abroad. It is for tlio people to. say whether they will submit < without protest to the .former remedy. It is for the politicians to deal with".tho objections raised by the opponents of, the second remedy. One can quite : understand why thoso , , interested in 'the land should oppose the introduction of. foreign , , meat,, tho ■ inevitable result of which appears to bp the; lowering of'the value of the homegrown ar : tide. . In'; such a matter a pound of ez : periehce, where it is obtainable, is worth a ton. of theory. Great Britain is pracr tically tho' only, country, which has 'made a practical test of the second'- remedy. The history of tho development of the trade in England is quite well known, and tho figures are available to the whole world: Engaged as we have boon m this industry since its' commencement, wo sliouldiliko to l>o permitted to put before you a few of the more salient features of the position as it has been developed in this country. - .In tho first place, the values of the home-fed meat have lemaincd practically unchanged during these past twency years, despite the enormous importation of foreign meat. , The explanation., of this apparently anomalous position is as follows:- . ■ The numbers and reproduction of the (locks and herds of the country having practically reached their, limit a quarter of a century ago, the entiro wants of the increaso in tho population which has taken place during that period, have necessarily been met by tho imported supplies. At the same time the.standard of comfort amonjrst the whole population has risen, and the resulting increase in tho consumption of meat from that enuse has also had to he met en:tirnly from imported "supplies. ''■■■■ ".- ' Further, the comparatively low prices at which these imported supplies have been available has created an entirely 'new army of consumdrs of meat, who, Junder the old regime, were forced ■to satisfy, themselves with fish, cheese, potatoes, and other less nutritive and less desirable foods. These people now includo in their dietary a large, proportion of good, sound, and nourishing beef and mutton. For these reasons tho vast importation which now amounts to about 40,000 tons per annum, or 20 to 25 per cent, of the entiro consumption of the United Kingdom, meets a ready market, and fills a. most important gap in our 'food supplies, without appreciably prejudicing the value of home-grown beef and mutton. That class of meat has retained its old clientele unchanged among tho wealthy classes, who can afford to pay the high prices which it still commands. It is true that, but for the importation of foreign meat alluded to, the prices of English beef and mutton, might by this time have rissn I to quite a fancy and prohibitive price, and the masses of the people might have been left to starve, as far as meat, is concerned; but, e-xcent that the landlords have been denied the selfish advantages that might have sprung from thn prohibition of foreign imports, they have suffered no loss, while the country, as a whole, has vastly benefited. The prices of home-killed meat have fluctuated slightly up and clown, according to temporary conditions, but, on tho whole, prices have been maintained, and for the present year, indeed, prices are almost the highest recorded. Simultaneously there has been a steady drop in the value of imported meat, brought about partly by reduced cost of transport with the growth of the trade, and also as a result of the vast increase in importation, and the competition between the various sources of supply. It is a.remarkable fact that the English people, who may be regarded as the best judges of good meat in the world! should consume such' tremendous quantities, of imported meat from Australia and. New. Zealand, and one cantherefore come to no' other conclusion thn'n that- this ■ meat is unimpeachable and .excellent. , , - . .