FROZEN MUTTON TRADE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 201, 21 October 1909, Page 5

FROZEN MUTTON TRADE.

Increase i;\ Wic.2. A cable from London dated October 16th states that the prices of frozen mutton and lamb have advanced rapidly.the recent low prices having greatly stimulated the consumption of mutton thus reducing stocks to moderate compass This, coupled with the light cargoes afloat and a shortage in the Argentine owing to the bad season, bis induced large speculation and a great deal of meat has changed ownership, but comparatively little has moved out of store, as the retail trade has not responded to the advance. The following are current prices:— Sheep: Canterbury, light, 4 id; medium 4Jd; heavy 4gd; Southland 4}d; North Island 4gd; selected 4§d. Beef is unchanged. Australian sheep 4d; River Plate 4|d; lambi 4id. With such favourable news from Home indicating that the better prices will in all likelihood be maintained, there is every reason to predict better prices for sheep in the Dominion. Breeding ewes have all along maintained their value extremely well, but wethers and lambs have been considerably affected by the state of tbe Home market, and a rise in values is only to be expected. In conjunction with the bealthy state of tbe wooi market the advance in mutton should assure a good season to sheep raisers throughout the Dominion.

Argentine frozen mutton is selling increasingly in Rome. The municipal council arc formulating a scheme for its admittance on a large scale. Switzerland is no%v open to receive frozen meat, under reasonable regulations. In 1840 there were 30,000,000 sheep in France; now there are but 17,000,000. Owing to these figures and also owing to the fact that mutton and lamb are now very much a la mode, there should be a good chance for frozen meat in that country if the agrarians could be checked. A gigot, or leg, of mutton now costs in Paris 6s to 7s.