STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 8

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Dbotes

Weekly Steel Sale* : BnrnsiJe, Wednesdays Askburtan, Tuesdays Aldington, Wednesday* Fortnightly: Balclutha, Fridays Gore, Tuesdays Oamaru, Tuesdays

I'oln'ifhthi : Invercirei'l, Tuesdays Uonthly : Clinton, Palmer«tonW'inton, and Waikouaiti. fn itdicallu; Heriot, Kelsc and XCyebura.

The stock markets remain steady. Fat lamb, find ready hn er?, but at Addington a laige portion of these yarded are more or lo^ unfinished, and go to graziers, who ovi in£ to the continued dry weather cannot fatten them so readily as in average seasons. The shipments of frozen nvutton and lamb from the South Island arc much smaller than usual up to this date. The Corinthic, however, took 30.0C0 carcases from Lyttelton last week, which is the •argesi shipment from any port this season. Notwithstandng this shortage, which must be well known there, the London lamb market remains dull, and e.i.f. business is not active, the reason probably being that in the past c.i.f. buyers ha^ c iost money on their purchases, and are inclined to pursue a more cautious policy. I hear that a good many farmer's are shipping on consignment rather than accept the pi ices being offered by exporters.

Mes-rs Weddel and Co.'s annual Review of the frozen meat trade is. as usual, ably I prepared, and contains much that is inI teresting and instructive. Bsyond recordj iner the fact thar Messrs Swift and Co.. of Chicago, acquired the La Plata. Meat Works ,' in Argentina, nothing is said regarding the ! entry of the American meat ring into the i frozen moat trade. The •supplies of frozen meat from all sources in 1907 show very large incj eases in murton and lamb. Australia and New Zealand being conspicuous lin this respect. South America, even with the addition of fresh supplies from Uruguay , and Patagonia, only slightly exceeded the supplies of 1905. The consumption of lamb, notwithstanding the increased import and relatively higih prices, shows a large increase, 'at trade was active and prosperous in the United Kingdom. The demand for mutton, however, was sluggish, especially for Australian and Rher Plate, notwithstanding comparatively low va'ues, and in spite of the scarceness and dearness of home-grown mutton. Smithfielri maiket was duller than the provincial markets, although the quantity of frozen meat passing through SmithfieW is declining and provincial supplies increasing. Ho«e\ er, there seems nothing to complain of. as the immense total increase of frozen meat imports (36,832 ton=) was I roadilv absorbed at fair pi ices, and there was at no time any great accumulation of stocks.

Mesbr<> Weddel's Re\mw sav= : "It is exceedingly doubtful if the year was a prosperous one to any engaged in the trade except the fanner, "ive stock beina deai in all countries of production, leaving little margin for freezing companies, while market orices were generally too high to leave retailers any fair margin of profit. The high wholesale prices were the more seveic'v felt by butchers, as frozen meat did not participate in the ri«e of retail prices o* other foods such as brend^tuffs. The condition in which New Zealand meat landed is recorded as eatisfaciorv. The meat MIPOI7 fVom North America i^ evi-denr!> fallino off, the decrea=e in 1907 amounting to 89,352 head of cattle, equivalent to 28.723 tons of beef, the impoi tations of live sheep showng no increase. The totil supply of dead nmat iinponed was 561.356 tons. It ■<oems difficult to arrive nt the home nio duction. but it is noted that the sunnlv of meat, poultry, and rabbits marketed at Smithfiold was 117,057 tons 20 per cent being hnme grown, 26 ncr cent. Australasian. 4-1 Hoi' cent, NnAh and South America, and 13 per cent Contment.il Tho lotdl maikelings from Now Zealand and Ai;f tir.lii. (Au-tr«i!a>-i l >ii) w^re a roeoul of 107. 570 tons exco-edins Hotre sup-il,es by 21.711 ions. As showing the d<»<-pdencp of Sinibfield. it i« stated that wlnKt in 1905 70 l.ci cent, of the Xcw Zoa'ind and Australian imports ivpre marketed there oul\ 54- per cent, were maikctcd in 1907. Alan\ shipments no»v ccne diicct Onm shio to depots e>rsbli-hed at CVovdon, Kmtrsfon, Readme. Honthend. Brighton, etc. Fioz^n meat larded at oti+inr's. I,i\ orpool especially, -show- an nicieasc."

Tl'O renoi-l «ays that t\<c ovrintion o f ti.nlc liotween Australasia .ir«il Wost fonf-t poM- l- less rppid than nn^lit ha^p boon oviiocti'd. Shinpeis find thov nn « '11 tb<?ir

pndi'c" equal'v wMI through T f'"don atvl tho cl 'lav m tlio \ov;iero to t'no "\V -st Co'lsl as co'-nrir?d w.tb T oiitloti t~ tins ilisf.-irfovv 1o c l.f. buve'-s. Th-* -cl c 1 1 v • • i ; o - -it outwits o\ MoanT-x ni" only a small pi 'on of whit tbo iv.oMi'ciil in-uW^ iil*->'h the bulk 1 'Mac; i Tiled fiom London '^ftor d"li' °i v tlipr*» In =toair.or- Au«tiali'n and Xew Zealand ' i"ln -v. ci"hi l.mil , -,ell loiter in the picn mci il marked than in Loiic'on.

'V't?r i To r <lni<T the up-t ti- f actoi-v re suiis of c l.f ttan-aot u>i-. to btivo's. t! -> ie port ctoes on 'o <• »v : "H-hipc 1 rosr.ir I t"> tl'f mir.v erroof a;l\ mnasres offei t»d b\ c i f. business to pl enoaged in the frozen lreat l-ndo. ir i^ a lvatfor feu' i<>pior that s p <-l) point-, winch wouH nidtenallv fdt-ilitaro t!ie fiirrl-pr. e<i-an-ion of this h heady impor cant branch of the business arc "still not

receiving the ittintiori which Ihe v demand

, The chief of those are ths lank of care \ r i sjraciins, resulting in irregulanty of quality

in even the best-known brands, and the co.itinued absence of any aotion being taken towards the standardisation of grades anil weicrhis as suggested in the- Review of 1906."

The desirability of the adoption of ono common form of contract for c.i.f. saLs is generally admittsd, but no progress in thi? direction was made during the last 12 months The use of inferior quality of cloth for wrapping frozen mea-t. and especially lambs, should be discontinued in the beit mtciesis of she trade

I would remark on the^c points that th-" 1 " are n't tiers of interest to everj sheep-far-mer in New Zealand, for undoubtedly the establishment of thorough confidence between 'buyers and sellers in the c.i.f. trade is of immense importance. Our leaders in the New Zealand frozen meat trade ha\e always resisted the Government grading- as carried on in the dairy pioduce trade, and will probably continue to do so. This, then, is another of many matters that might be discussed and arranged by some co-operation among freezing works in New Zea'and that was advocated some time ago, with no result a,-, yet.

Messrs AVed-clel in their Heview inform us that the total output of the world's freeziag works last year was 415,680 tons, as compared with 396,051 in 1906, am? 367,550 tons in 1905. Of last year's total 350,140 (chilled and frozen) came to the United Kingdom, 35,540 went to other markets, as compared with 343.456 tons and 52,595 tons respectively in 1906. This shows clearly that the United Kingdom is our main market, and that outside markets are unimportant. The decrease to other markets above recorded is mainly due to the shrinkage in demand from South Africa, where protective duties have encouraged farmers there to produce for their own supply, and this will be increasingly the case. The shipments to the East and to Mediterranean poits continue to be but small, and show no signs of increasing.

There are other waiters in this report wh.ch I shall deal with in my next notes. Meantime Messrs Weddel's forecist of the tradj for the present year is. though expressed with caution, likely to be- fairly correct, so far as we can see at present, and is, I think, satisfactory. They say: "The general trade of the United Kingdom is less satisfactory than a year ago. and pi-os-pects point to the possibility of a reduction in the demand for meat from home consumers The demand for frozen meat from such markets as Mediterranean. Philippine 1 ?, Easterr Siberia, etc., should be fully, maintained, but South Africa requirements may show a further shrinkage. The -probabilities are small of any now outlets such as those of the Continent being opened to froze a meat during 1908. No expansion in home supplier of beef or mutton is likely to take place, and it is problematical whether North America will be able to more than maintain its present reduced ex portations. From Australia, Now Zealand, and River Plate all-round increases may bo expected. The average prices of mutton, lamb, and beef should about equal those of last year. ' On the whole, this annual Re view* is of a distinct'y cheering, tone to those engaged in our great meat industry, for, notwithstanding increased supplies last year, demand was equal to it and consumption gtrod. Some former large suppliers to the United Kingdom, notably North America, continue to decline in their exports, lea\ing ample room fpj* further increases from Australia and New Zealand. Up to date the supplies from New Zealand and Australia for this -\ear show a decrease instead of an increase, as expected in the report, and this may later cause improvement in prices to some extent.