THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1100, 17 October 1883, Page 2

THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

The following is a letter from a Loudon house to their representatives in Christchurch:

“ With reference to the consignments of frozen mutton, it is to be regretted that they have been made direct to the Australian Company, and not to their agents. They are debarred from exorcising that control over the sales which in the interests of constituents should

have been invested in them. This is the more to be regretted because the method of disposal adopted by the present consignees is not such as meets with general approval. “ In the present stage of the business shipments should be concentrated as much as possible, and many of the houses in Loudon entertain the opinion, and are acting on it. Notably the Loan Company, National Mortgage Company, Redfern, Alexander and Co., and Robert Brooks and Co. The combination in the case of a recent shipment was found to work very well, and we believe they were all satisfied with the results. But they prudently kept all in the hands of one. salesman, and fed the market according to the condition of the trade, whereas

the Australian Company is employing no fewer than five salesmen (six have been mentioned), all of whom are competing One against the other with results the reverse of beneficial to shippers. As a proof one instance may be cited, a purchase from one of them on Saturday last of 100 sheep by a rival salesman, and then resale within half-an-hour at a clear profit of £ls, or 3s per sheep. That money should have gone into the shippers’ pockets, and if the consignment had been discreetly handled it, would have gone there. in course ol time, when the shipments prove larger and more continuous, and ill's necessary to provide (or the sale of from 5000 to 10,000 carcases a week, it will no doubt be necessary to use the services of more than one salesman. But by that time the English market will have become accustomed to the meat, and absorb it as freely as domestic produce ; whereas now the demand is limited and cramped, as is inevitably the case with a new article, for which a trade has to be gradually built up in the teeth of prejudice. “The. advantages to be derived from sending their meats to the respective agents are those which naturally follow from personal attention of an experienced consignee being given to their shipments. Apart from the general question of marketing, many items of interest present themselves in the handling of consignments, and on these it is frequently necessary to advise their constituents specially. Such matters ns butchering, cooling, freezing, packing, size and selection of sheep, and so on invariably suggest comments of some kind, all of which should promptly be conveyed to the parties interested, not only for their present satisfaction, but for future guidance. In the absence of such information shippers have no opportunity of knowing whether their ventures are suitably prepared for market or not, and may go on repeating mistakes for an indefinite period, under the impression that everything is as it should be. Our informant, Mr Henry J. Gate, lately appointed Secretary for the National Mortgage and Agency Company, has for the past two years personally examined and reported upon the whole of the importations of frozen meat from the Australian Colonies, and some thousands of carcases have passed through his hands for disposal, so that these remarks should carry some weight, and it is hoped will be found of use to shippers in the future.”