WORLD'S MEAT SUPPLY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2153, 20 May 1914, Page 7

WORLD'S MEAT SUPPLY

GRAVE FEARS

DEMAND MAY OUTRUN STOCK

By Telesra-ph—Press Association— Copyright "Times" and Sydney "Sun" Serrif-ca (llec. May 19, 6.10 p.m.) London, May 18. There arc widespread fears that the world's demand for meat will shortly outrun tlie supply, and that the result will bo a largo advance in tho prices of food generally.

For sonio months past there Ims been evinced in commercial circles considerable anxiety as to the future of the world's meat.supply. The United States,

which in former years, was a large oxporter. has now to import her supplies. A banker in Washington, who for many

years was connected with the cattle business and has Jong "known every phase of it" was quoted by "Tho Wall Street Journal" some time ago as having said that "the best means of increasing our

supply of beef is becoming every hour a more pressing tmestion." With this as a text, a'writer in "The Journal" cited the strange indifference of the public to his jiressing (juestion. When beef was abundant, no more thought was taken of its conservation than was taken of big game. ■Both were so plentiful that it seemed unnecessary to protect the supply. But prices for' beef finally began to rise. Consumers felt the pinch and believed tho blame rested with the packers, or tho "trust." Wlnle this abuse, says the writer, "may not have been anuss, it diverted attention from the prime cause." That cause lay in the fact that home ; steaders for years had been "drawing a constantly narrowing circle around the range steer, who is now making his last stand for tho semiarid region." Meanwhile, farms are not producing beef. The following statistics were presented by "The Journal" to show how the supply declined in recent years:—

Exchistveof PopuJan.l. All cattle. Dairvcows. lation. 1913 5G,527,0(10 30,030,000 !)G,496,000 1912 : 57,899,000 , 37,200,000 95,510,000 1911 ...... 60,502,000 39,079,000 93.793,000 1907 72,53-1,000 ■ 51,566,000 ■ 87,321,000 Steers form the main supply of beef, and theso of all ages never constitute more than one-third of the second column. Reducini: the supply of cattle to a per capita basis, tho proportion is: Per capita — Ter capita for exclusive of all cattle. dairy cows. 1913 0.580 0.37-1 1912 0.607- 0.38'J 1911 ' 0.043 ; 0.423 1907 0.831 0.594 Reduced to percentages; theso statistics show that, between January 1, 1912, and January 1, 1913, animals, exclusive of dairy cows, decreased 11.5 per cent, and that between 1907 and 1913 the decrease was 27 per cent. As to prices, it appears that between 190G and 1913 fat cattlo in Chicago increased 50.9 per cent., and, of course, the wholesale price of dressed beef kept pace with 'tlio price for fat cattle. Tlio writer contends that tho problem of our boof supply in tho future "must be worked out in our own borders," and that "tho sooner we realise the fact the better it will be for us." Much might perhaps ba expected from tho free entry of cattle and beef, but tho Writer believes that' these expectations would bo disappointed. Figures for imports from Argentina • indicated that 8,000,000 pounds may come from, that country in a year, but the writer finds this fact "good only as far as it goes, since it only averages H ounces a vear for each person." Argentina has 20,000,000 head of cattle only, and the herd in that country has not increased in tho past four years.' In Europo this demand fairly equals the European supply. Canada lias only l G,800,000 head, and' of 'these 35 per cent, arc dairy cows.- , "Such"facts show that theTß is "a world-wide shortage of cattle." i