AUSTRALIAN MEAT.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 October 1919, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN MEAT.

SERIOUS POSITION REACHED. SCORES FULL AND SHIPS LACKING. Urgent rcpi-psiMit:ii ionsr have recently ■Loon made by tiie Commonwealth authorities with a view to securing farther refrigerated tonnage In si '"cablegram to the Imperial Government recently the Minister for Cn.sl.onis (Mr Madsoy (Ircii) described tlio position of the Australian frown meat industry as alarming, and pointed out that if'tin; pint of frozen meat in the stores were allowed to continue, thus more or less paralysing the whole pasioral industry. Ihe consequences must he, calamitous. Me also suggested that recently publish, oil figures, showing that while in the last I:', mmvihs the Argentine sent 12 million lons of fn170.11 moat, to Itrllain, Australia sent only I.J millions, did not imlie-ire the fostering of trade within the Empirc in the nunuer generally desired. In reply, the Minister received a message stalim; thai there'had been a considerable increase in the insulated space allotted to Australia, which will be available before the end of the year. According to statements made in Sydney, (he eold storage space in all the Australian States is nractieailv filled. Beef and mutton at present stored in Auslrnlia represent, rather more ihalt the normal year's export in pre-war tunes. If i s stated that the present export of beef ami mutton barely keens pace with the average weekly 'killing r or the European market. 'ln addition, there are over ]2,Onn,onn skinned '■abbits await'n.o; export, and the British Shipping Controller has intimated that for the present no further space is to be provided in refrigerated steamer- for rabbits. The Xew South Wales Government is being urged to follow the example of Victoria, and provide additional eold storage accommodation. Meantime a request lias been cabled to Engla.nd nskmg that permission be given to'have the rabbits held in cold storage in Australia to the order of the British Government taken out and canned so that they might be shipped in ordinary steamers, thus providing additional space for beef and mutton—chiefly mutton as practically all the beef now being bought lor export is for canning purposes. Sir Owen Cox stated that the ships tiffed with refrigerators now en route for Australia are not sufficient to overtake, much less reduce, the quantities of beef and mutton hold for oversea trade. The eonsre.stion is specially acute m Xew South Wales'and Victoria. In a short lime the cold storage snace in Australia would, be completely blocked up. If (he beef and mutton trades were not to be» temporarily paralysed, additional refrigerated space must be provided either on sea or land "Refrigerated steamers," Sir Owen Cox proceeded, "have not vet been provided to take the place of those lost durin" the war, though almost weekly indent, messages are being ca.bled to' England for additional refrigerated space. "The fact, of the matter is'that such sjiace is not really available. We know that meat is to be rationed in England tins winter, and we know that 'largo quantities of meat are available in the Argentine, and as a vessel can lVJte three trips to the Argentine in the same tame as it takes to make one to Australia, the Shipping Controller evidently believes that he would not be justified in sending special refrigerated ships to Australia at this juncture.