FROZEN PRODUCE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 303, 11 September 1918, Page 8

FROZEN PRODUCE

' * ; PROSPECTS OF MEAT TRADE ! OUTLOOK SATISFACTORY MORE STORAGE ESSENTIAL | STATEMENT BY, HON, D. H. j- . ' GUTHRIE - ""■ . I The Minister of Imperial' Supplies j ■ mado a statement yesterday regarding ' the prospects for the frozen meat and , dairy industries, having regard especi- |' '.ally'to the cold storage problem';as afj' [iccted by the'shortage or As I will appear from.the statement Mr!-. [■ Guthrie hopes that there may, be enough . ships available to serve New Zealand ! over next season. ; ; References to "cut" or '^telescoped" I carcasses will be noted. The references | 'is-to a practice introduced some time I ago of cutting and folding mutton and. |. lamb carcasses in order to save space j, .in the freezing chambers and cold ; stores, The plan increases the meat ; 'capacity of a store considerably, but 1.... of ; course the method is.applicablo only ! to mutton. Also) at the time that, the I "scheme was introduced there were in [ the stores quantities of meat which had j. jiot'been cut, and as the : -carcasses were ; .then frozen, they have not been cut, i and cannot be cut. |.; ' Storage Space, '. j." The Minister's statement runs. , :. ■ The present' storage' accommodation of the . Dominion is 6,400,000, freight L carcasses (a freight carcass being 601b. •. qf- any class of:.meat), and.to this' (' should be added the estimated addi- ' tional storage accommodation to . be ! ■'terected for-.the 1918-19 season, an !•' amount estimated at 600,000 freight j • carcasses, making a total of ;■ freight .carcasses. x j. ■■ There' were in store on July 81 last j . 5,250,000 freight carcasses of meat, but l owing to the telescoping : of the cari'; Casses. an allowance, of" 750,000 freight j carcasses should be deducted from this i total.. It is calculated that.by reason : of telescoping, the * meat will occupy i this much less space.' 'I'd understand j : this-deduction; fully. it must he under- ;. stood, that the-storage capacity is mea- | sured.ahyays.in uncut carcasses, where- ; as -tie ; 'meat ; is measured by weight r only. K , Consequently;, the 5,250,000 } freight, carcasses in store will occupy i ; only.'.the.'space that would he taken by j .4,500,000 uncut carcasses. • " | -'Fromr-the'total of four and ahalf : : 'million carca/sses may be deducted the I amount of. meat to be taken away by j'. the-steamers in sight. Steamers'-load-'' i ing.in September will lift 419,000 car- ■[ casses, and it is 'estimated that an | additional quantity of .887,0.00 carcasses | will;be lifted by, other ships, less the i amount to, be reserved for dairy produce, making a' total :of. 1,306,000 carcasses/ .to'be taken out ;of the stores . befb're'the end of.-this calendar year. 1 To,this estimate should'be'added the ; extra. quantity' which' it „is probable will _ be', shipped' because: of the teleI Bfcoping..of mutton and lamb carcasses, • say, 150,000 carcasses, making tie ; actual store clearance 1;456,000 freight !■-. 'carcasses. So that at.the end of 1918 the estii ;.ihated'balance; of pasb seasons' meat. !",In; stores will'be 3,044,000 freight carj[ -cesses. To ascertain the- actual amount •of old and new meat in the stores on I : .'that date will have -to be added the "estimated killings for that part of the . coming season before the, end of the i "calendar, year, say, 540,000' carcasses, j ...and to get-the real, store content of ; -this meat an.allowance of 50,000 freight i 'carcasses. Bhould be allowed for the ' * -telescoping . of, carcasses, making the • new killings equivalent in space to 1',[490.000 cracasses. "• . The total meat remaining in store, I' ;or rather the contents in uncut carj; .casses of this nfeat, at the end of the i .year will, therefore, be 3,534,000 freight icarcassep. 1 i .Deduct this from the total space . [available 7,000,000 and the ; [available space to receive the meat for I' .the remainder' of the 1918-19 season ' .will be' $,466,000 freight carcasses. ! Next Year. ' Mr. Guthrie went on to discuss in ; much'less exact' terms _,the prospects !' tor the year 1919. "The position be- ' yond the end of the year," he said,' .' /'is necessarily obscure, owing to the I uncertainty of the war conditions. We j. 'have no definite information regarding !. the shipping relief, to .be provided durj ing 1919, and until we have some such [ information no one can fell iilie number [ of ships that will be available. But j, we' haye the assurance,, that in . the i allocation of shipping in ' future the ; Australasian trades will receive more j consideration ithan has b.son given to i; them in the past. After a most care- ! ful examination of' the' prospects for f the 1919 season it appears to ino that i at the end of July the available freezing space will be just about the same 1 as it was at the end of July this year. "The killings tip till December -31, j ' 1918, liave already been accounted for : , in the above estimate, and \the balance ' of the,season killings wilk probably : amount to, 5,500,000: freight carcasses. ; For this meat, and also for a considor- [ able quantity of butter, space will have : to be provided. Should tbe shipping .facilities up till the end"of July 31, I 1919, equal those, for the same period i of this year—and';we have every rea- . son to believe that this will be so—we 1 should load in the seven months 39 [ steamers, lifting 2,652,581 freight !, carcasses of meat, as well as 599,831 ■ boxes of butter. In all, our calcula- ' tions we are counting upon new stor- ; age being built, and 1 would emphasise | .the necessity fur providing that addij .-tional storage. .If the storage is built ! then the outlook for the season should • hi good. At least, there is no reason in view yet why producers should bo : 'alarmed. j [ I " "There will be a considerable ini crease in the amount of meat in store ; .at the end of next killing season, but ! jt is estimated that the margin of u'nI- occupied storage available then will be i about the 'same, if not a little greater, ! than at the present time. This should | 'prove sufficient lor the Dominion's j needs at least until the commencement i of the 1919-20 season. ; Prospects "Brighter. ! , "Mr. Massev, in his latest telei . grams, makes three important points— j (1) The shipping outlook is more satisj factory and is improving; (2) lie enii phasises the. necessity for an increase j- in cold storage space; (3) he advises [ producers of the Dominion not to be in L a hurry to sell their produce at less I than value. j "It. should be understood fully by the ! producers, that the position as here p stated is dependent entirely upon cir- ! . cumstances over which we have no con- ' trol. If anything occurs to disturb i the shipping situation everything may I be altered.- I have been giving this !' natter veryiseriouaattention- for somo I timej';but'up till now the position has I heen so uncertain, that. 1 deemed it ■ .wise to refrain from making a state- ; ment to .the producers of the Dominion until such time as Ij felt 1 had suf-^ [ ficient information, fearing that on the s ]

one hand I might . have needlessly ulanned them, or that, . 011 the other hand, I might havo given tliem excuse or cause for undue optimism."