FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4657, 4 February 1924, Page 2

FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY.

POSITION IN SOUTH AMERICA. PLENTY OF STOCK AVAILABLE. By the last mail the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board received some interesting information relating to the frozen meat industry in South America. The board’s representative at Buenos Aire.s wrote as follows under date November 15, -1923 : —' “ You are already aware of the stoppage in the slaughter of export beef cattle, caused by the application of the minimum price law, the enforcement of which has been delayed for 180 days. Killing has again been resumed, and many lots of choice steers slaughtered for the Christmas trade. The freezers have so far maintained prices ; but a big drop is inevitable owing to the large available supply at this season of the year. The quantity of dressed beef in the chambers, and the animals purchased before the Act came into force, enabled the companies to fill up their shipping space, with the exception of odd lots for the Continent. The freezing companies business offices have lately been thronged with owners of fat cattle desirous of selling their animals before the fall in prices. “There has been a large offering of all classes of shejep, and values are slightly lower. There has been considerable entries of good lambs around 321 b, in more level and fatter lots than arc generally marketed here. There is no means of getting reliable information regarding the possible killings on the South Coast (called Pategonia in the trade), only there has been an exceptionally severe winter, with very heavy falls of show, which will cause sheep to be thin in the spring, while there are only natural grasses available in that part of this Republic, where the killing season starts in January and finishes about the middle of April. I am inclined tp consider that numbers of the Pategonia sheep have been brought to the province of Buenos Aires, owing to the high prices ruling for sheep here. “A co-operative society has commenced to build a plant at Deseado (Santa Cruz) with a capacity to handle 5009 sheep a day, and store 250,000 carcases.”