TRAVELS ABROAD

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8349, 8 February 1913, Page 2

TRAVELS ABROAD

ARGENTINE MEAT TRADE. A NEM ZEALANDER’S OBSERVATIONS. During bis visit to South America, occupying many months, Mr W. A. J. Jackson, of Dbnakl and Co., Masterton, who returned by tbo Remuera after an absence of two years from the Dominion, bad opportunities of studying first baud Argentine’s frozen meat industry. His itinerary', besides the Argentine, included visits to Uruguay, Chili, Falkland Islands, and Brazil. “Swifts and Armour, tbo big American monopolists, are buying up land in Southern Brazil and Southern Argentina—they have already established themselves in Southern Brazil with the object of getting a monopoly of the South American meat trade,” said Mr Jackson to a “Times” reporter. “Swifts have their own works in Monte Video, though they don’t go in so much for frozen shop as for chilled beef. Whilst in Chicago I went through the Swifts’ works. They had just received an order from the British Government for 50,000 steers, which I had an opportunity of seeing with their inspector. They were very prime animals. In the Southern Argentine there is ono 'ranch carrying over a million sheep—probably the largest sheep farm in the world. It is managed by a New Zealander, Mr Cameron, who originally came from Canterbury, and is owned by a Chilian company, mostly men in Parliament down there. “Comparing the New Zealand mutton and lamb with that of the Argentine, the latter was poor when contrasted with the New Zealand product. It is a wonderful sheep country, though. In Central Argentina tlio sheep suffer ~ very largely from scab, and they have to be dipped at least live times a year. It seems almost impossible to stamp it out, unless it is tliken in hand by the Government. Argentina is a very cosmopolitan country; very seldom you get a group of Englishmen together. The farmers don’t co-operate like they do in. New Zealand. The labourers are principally Italian, and boat-loads of them come from Italy for the harvesting. They live and work, however, where a Bintishor could not, living out in the open. The average wage for a white labourer in Argentina is about 17s (id a week and found. “The Argentine meat is not dressed in anything like the attractive form of the Gear or Meat Export Companies’ products in Wellington. Still, it is a severe competitor, though not as regards quality, because can’t fatten so quickly, as we do in New Zealand. Another thing, they haven’t got the water supply that we have,. and their mutton is not so sweet as the New Zealand mutton. At the same time, much of the Argentine meat is sold in London as New Zealand. That I know for a fact. I noticed it myself. An old farmer from Canterbury was with me when we came across a hawker in the streets of London ing what ho called out as ‘New Zealand mutton.’ My farmer friend knew it had not come from New Zealand. ‘l’ll give you the price of all the mutton you’ve got if you can prove it is Canterbury, which you say it is,’ he said to the hawker. ‘1 can’t be responsible for the label,’ replied the hawker. It was Argentine mutton all right. The Argentine sheep seem to go to leg a lot, aul you can’t mistake the mutton from that country. “There is room for the development of prize-stock sales between New Zealand and Argentina. During my two years’ travelling in South America 1 was often asked about New Zealand stock. I don’t think New Zealand has anything to learn, however, from the Argentine in regard to its frozen mutton, though much more might be done in the direction of keeping the New Zealand label before Home consumers.”