CANADIAN CATTLE

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 54, 26 November 1921, Page 12

CANADIAN CATTLE

TRADE MYTH BRITISH MARKETS.

From Our Own Correspondent. Palmerston North, November 24.

The “Regina Leader” of September 24 has the following remarks on the meat trade with England, which should be interesting to stock-raisers in this Dominion as showing the opening which Canada has for placing its meat on the Home markets: — “The ground on which tho embargo against Canadian cattle was laid in Great Britain some twenty years ago is definitely removed by the report of the commission appointed by the Government to examine the question; but the embargo itself remains and can be repealed only by legislation. ’lhe commission finds that Canadian herds are now healthier than those of either England or Ireland, and thuu removes irom them the stigma that has been used for two decades by the farmers of the British Isles as an argument against lifting the embargo. With this point cleared up and Canadian cattle given a clean bill of health,, whether the British Parliament will see its way to remove the embargo and permit the importation of Canadian stock on the hoof will depend on whether or not it can be convinced that the advantages in the way of lower prices of meat in the British market that may be expected to ensue from the unrestricted importation of Canadian cattle will outweigh the disadvantages to the domestic live stock industry that the Irish and Scotch farmers insist would follow the letting down of the bars. “The opening of the British market to Canadian cattle is looked to by many to offset the closing of the United States market by recent tariff legislation. On the other hand, a large nuiiiber of wellinformed cattleman, especially in the West, are convinced that the two markets are by no means equally desirable. A trial shipment of fat cattle was recently made by the Alberta Government to the Glasgow market, with disastrous financial results. The initial cost of tho steers and the transportation charges far exceeded the price obtained for the shipment in Scotland. It does not follow from this that ‘stackers’ cannot be shipped from Canada and finished in the Old Country at a profit; but so many more factors enter into oversea shipments than are encountered in shipping to the United States market that the element of risk is undoubtedly materially increased. (‘The value of the British mark</ will remain a merely academic question in Canada until the embargo has been removed by the British Parliament and transportation charges have been reduced. The value of tho Uniteel States market ie a fact already established by years of cattle trading over the line, and there is no reason to believe that this market can*.ot be reopened to Canadian cattle '■ ’he Government of Canada can only induced to approach the authorities

Washington with a vieir to securing a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States.”