THE MEAT INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 June 1918, Page 3

THE MEAT INDUSTRY.

DIFFICULTIES OF CLEARANCE. Special. Wellington, June 25. The difficulties that are going to arise owing to the impossibility of getting a clearance of meat from the freezing stores this season are receiving the close attention of the Government and particularly of the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. D. G. Guthrie. It seems certain that there will be a very large : quantity of meat in the stores at the end of the season and that much of this meat will still be on nand when the new season opens. The shipping situation might improve owing to happenings that cannot at present be foreseen with certainty, but it would be rash on the part of the Government, the freezing companies or the farmers to anticipate any early improvement. The obvious way of meeting, the difficulty and protecting the producer from serious loss is to provide additional cold storage. How far this can proceed is a matter of expediency as well as of practicability. The amount of cold storage in New Zealand has been hugely increased already and it may not be a payable proposition to erect stores that would be practically useless after the war. Their cost might more than balance the gain to the farmer*. But the Government will be prepared to continue giving financial assistance, in the way of money at a low rate of interest, to companies that are willing to increase their storage and are in a position to do so. It appears from investigations that have been made recently that although many of the existing freezing plants cannot deal with such additional storage space, there are actually in the Dominion some plants that have neve* been erected. These c#uld be used. The Government iB prepared, if necessary, to make representations to the Imperial authorities with the object of obtaining plant from the United Kingdom. Ministers are inclined to believe that the necessary permitß could be granted by. the Ministry of Munitions if the urgency of the case were represented. It seems certain, in any case, that the freezing companies will not be able to operate at full speed for the normal period next season. In other words kill-, ing will have to be reduced if 'the shippin" outlook does not improve and the known disinclination of the Imperial authorities to take lamb if beef or mutton can be secured will have to be taken into consideration.