N.Z. FROZEN MEAT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1702, 19 March 1913, Page 10

N.Z. FROZEN MEAT.

LONDON DEALERS' OBSERVATIONS. *'Wc havo seen carcasses, in store.in New ■ Zealand (and havo handled many thousands ■at Home), and can stato as a , -'positive fact that if it were ' possible to Jilanq these carcasses on tho London market in exactly the same' condition, wiUi- . out a scratch on tho carcass or a sppek of dirt on tho cloth, and with every wrapper / .intact, tho meat would not bo worth oneKixleenth -of -a penny per lb. moro •in viiluo. The quality of tlio meat, and not , :,o'much the appearance, told iii England, . _ and. thero 'were plenty of men in the re-. . tail trade who would givo }d. -per lb., or •even more abovo tho market price, for anything of-specjally'good quality." The above .is the opinion expressed by 3lr. 11. S. Fitter, head of. tho frozen meat firm of 11. S. Fitter and Co., of Smitlitield, London, who, with'his son, jfr. ;,;Eric Fitter, has been touring Now Zealand for somo time past. .Referring -to the .. fact'that many of the men now slaughter-

ing for export aro now hands, Jlr. Fitter j'ecoguised tl/at this would necessarily make the delivery slower than it. was before the strike, but his son rind lie .having visited several of tho large,works "and examined tho Carcasses prepared by tho new men could'only say that they wero very pleased with the carcasses, and tho work of tho new men. The loss in vain© through 'incompetent dressing sfiould bo practically nil. The people of Now Zealand probably 'over'-estimated tho valuo of improving the dressing and appearance of the carcass.'. Tito great, thing was to sec* that the lambs and sheep .were properly fattened before, they jvc'ro slaughtered', and -there Was" still room for improvement in this direction in tho North island. 'Jfr. Fitter has very little sympathy with the agitation for . improved accommodation for New Zealand meat at tho London docks. Tho. dock stores were quito all right for tho provincial trade, but the np-Thames'stores, close to the markets, were the; only practicable ones for supplying the markets. Mr. Fitt':r characterised as - absurd .tho idea of Bristol competing with Loudon as a centre of distribution. At tho sairio time, Bristol and other West Coast '.ports, as .wolWas elsewhere- in the United' Kingdom, ■would everv year increase their-imports of frozen meat