FROZEN MEAT

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 300, 13 September 1920, Page 8

FROZEN MEAT

Me'ssrs!' R. Arloiv and Company have re- | ceived tho following letter from their London agents, Messrs. L. C. Bullnntino and Co.. under date July 27:-"We do not wish you to bo tco greatly concerned, 'about the. reputation of New Zealand meat suffering to a considerable extent as a result of' the condition in which your New Zealand meat arrived whilst under, the ownership of the Imperial GoVernment. In our opinion, when your free meat comes along; the comparison it will afford with previous shipments will be' so .'pleasing as to put it in the high "favour that it »njoy«d in pre-war 'days.- : We are pleased- to note that the -grading will be even moro hardened up than previously. The mutton market is in a very bad condition. This is emphasised bv the Government reducing their price' to Cd. ner lb. for cut. ewes, ' from .-.which is . deducted cartage from the stores, to Smithfiold,' or even railago to any. part of the United Kingdom, -2d. per lb. profit for the wholesaler, and 2 per cont. commission to the nominated agent, representing jd. per lb., and bringing tlie net price to Sl&'. per Ik At tho 'meeting of agents on July 27 the ■following recommendation was put forward to the Ministry rtf -Food, namely, to reduce prices to cut New Zealand and 'Australian qwes from fid. to sd. rjer lb., end uncut ewes from Bd. to 5(1. Further, to reduce the price of Australian cut wether from Sd. to 6ld. per !J>. Tho obiect of this proposed reduction wna to •help along the sale. for. a? we informed you, the sheep trade is excessively slow, and' stocks are accuraulaiine. It was reported that 8(10,000-Australian and New Zealand sheep were in store in the United Kingdom, as against 150,009 lambs. The latter of course, have a very ready fate indeed, but it is. getting extremely difficult to 6ell New Zealand owns and Australian wethers and ewes with no lambs to go with them. Some of tho . nominated agents find it finite impossible to get on with their stocks, and storage chorees are becoming a very hoavv item. Whether the proposed reduction of price will brine about an increased demand of a substantial- character remains to be Been. If not, cjnito a problem presents itself as to how the demand for sheep is to be increased."