OUR MEAT SUPPLY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 69, 20 November 1915, Page 6

OUR MEAT SUPPLY.

AN INTERESTING REVIEW. ' 1 The Prime Minister W. F. Massey) has published a pamphlet dealing with the nieat industry iii New Zealand.' A detailed outline is given of the whole question of the Imperial meat supply and of the manner in which the Government and the suppliers combined to meet the wishes of the Board of Trade, which had been entrusted with the question of feeding the troops and the civilian population. A meeting of the interested parties, was held, and a schedule of 'prices;' agreed upon. Every freezing company) was required to furnish complete re-' turns of their Hqssen stock, and arrangements were made for the payinehfcypf jtffifej clients ~pf the companies direct by' the Gox^erhment'free of exchange. The total purchased under the scheme to OctobeF 'ls, 1915, was £5,529,409, Taranaki,district receiving £236, 750, while the highest seller was Canterbury at £1.548,499, with Wellington close np with £1,414,238. Large cheques were paid out to some companies at one time, the amounts being £57,685 10s 9d, £53,000, and others of large amounts. The total amount of meat receied was 333,036 quarters pf beef, 1,970,506 carcases of lamb, the North Island sending the majority of the beef and mutton, while the South Island contributed 1,994,890 carcases of lamb. The question of shipping was the next business, and in this the requisitioning of insulated ships for transports upset calculations; However, an Order-in-Council at Home requisitioned all insulated space in all British steamers in the Australian and New Zealand trade. Thereupon -the representatives of the shipping firm,s .trading in New Zealand met, and have met daily ever since, to arrange shipping, and are working mutually and in co-operation. The insulated, space is pooled for the freezing companies. Some large ; shipments Ipavei,left. New to date? being the Hurunui ; .which' sailed on,l2th November, carrying a cargo of 59,276 carcases of mutton, 97,882 of lamb, 10,014 quarters of beef, 491 hags and pieces of beef, 10 carcases and 28 sides of veal, 406 hags and pieces of mutton. The whole was valued at £167,615. The prospects for the 1915-1916 season are that there will lx* 8,275,000 carcases of 6011) for export provided that adequate shipping facilities are available. New freezing works are being erected to the number of eleven, nine in the North Island and two in the South. Six are expected to he ready for operation this coming season. The pamphlet is to be continued, and copies are obtainable from the Government Printer.