LOSING GROUND

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 16 November 1927, Page 8

LOSING GROUND

DOMINION’S LONDON MEAT TRADE. Figures supplied by the N.Z. Meat Producers’ Board for nlne months ending September, 1927, compared with those for the corresponding period of 1926, show that m so far as beef is concerned, our exports to London have declined a further 397 tons, leaving our supply to that market at the practically negligible figure of 707 tons. During the saine period the Argentine increased her hold on the market to the tune of 15,270 tons, from 140,450 tons to 155,720 tons. During the same period we have also fallen off in the quantity of mutton and lamb sent to London to the tune of 2,2884 tons, while Australia and Uruguay appear as our most successful competitors, the former with an increase of 3,717 ton* and the latter 1,965 ton*. In both beef and mutton, Britain and Ireland have increased home production to over 5,000 tons for the period under review, and with pork to the extent of 10,212 tons. New Zealand has more than doubled her supply of pork to the Old Country but even so, our total sent to London is still only 410 ton* out of a total consumed of 24,190 tons.

In this business of meat export, there is no such thing as standing still. We must continually increase our output to cater for the increased demand, or some other enterprising country, often a foreign one, step* in and supplies our customers. An illuminating fact is, that during the period under review, London ha* consumed 2,179 tons more beef and 7,572 tons more mutton and lamb, or a total of 9,751 tons more meat, than during the same period irf the proceeding year, but far from having supplied any of this extra demand, the Dominion’s supplies have decreased by 2,681 tons. Why is this so when our sheep returns show that we are carrying more stock than for many years past? It would appear to the writer that where the trouble lies is in that we are failing to supply the prime small joints that this market demands, and must hence content ourselves with other markets where lower grade heavyweights are acceptable at a lower price per pound.