Frozen Meat Trade.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 211, 7 March 1895, Page 2

Frozen Meat Trade.

Messrs Nelson Bros, report under date 25th January :— New Zealand mutton. — The arrivals during the month have been " Indramayo " with 54,228. " Matatua " 80,847. " Ruahiue," 12,221, and " Gothic" 31,306, but this addition to the present heavy stocks could have been dispensed with, to the very great advantage of the trade, and a temporary total cessation of imports would be welcome, to enable a clearance to be made of the existing plethora. Much of the meat recently to hand has a faded appearance, and is not likely to improve with further storage of two or three months, which seems inevitable before it can find a market. The first two weeks of the year saw considerable improvement in prices, and best Canterbury sold at 4£d per lb, North Island selling at 3f per lb, during the last ten days there has been a reaction, and best sheep have receded to 3-J to 4d per lb and second class to 3£d per lb, ewes to 3d per lb, the two last meeting serious competition in some large, meaty, Australian crossbreds, not only have prices been bad but demand as well has been restricted, During 1894, 2,295,102 cwt. of mutton were imported into the United Kingdom, against 1.971,500 for the previous year The imports from New Zealand were 1 ,958,923 carcases in 1894, as against 1,893,751 in 1893 Australia showed an increase of 291,023 carcases and River Plate 10,068, carcases.