THE MEAT TRADE.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 February 1922, Page 5

THE MEAT TRADE.

POSITION IN BRITAIN. NO DEMAND FOR BEEF. MUTTON STOCK CLEARED. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. London, Feb. 20. Interviewed by a representative of the Australian Press Association Mr. Edmund Jowett said that, while the markets for frozen mutton and lamb had made a splendid recovery, Australian and New Zealand beef were in a deplorable position. Chilled Argentine was selling freely at very low prices, but 'best Australasian was almost unsaleable. The difference between the prices of English fresh beef up to 9fd and Australian 3Ad is astounding.

The great rise in mutton was due to the sudden discovery early in January that the enormous stocks of New Zealand mutton accumulated during and after the war had practically disappeared. This seems strange, but is confirmed on every hand, and is due to the fact that no adequate statistics were regularly available regarding the stocks in Britain.

When the stores were emptied of mutton and lamb there were no great sources of supply. Argentina is an almost negligible factor in lamb and not so serious a competitor in mutton as in beef. Hence the great rise in the prices of mutton and lamb. But there was no such consolation for producers and owners of frozen beef, which, was exposed to the fiercest competition of Argentine chilled beef, of which there were enormous supplies which were being forced upon Britain. Australia’s distance from Europe made it impossible to specialise in chilled as Argentina did. Australia’s adverse position was aggravated by the great accumulations of old 'beef bought by Vestey Bros, in 1920 at high prices, but they had resolved to dispose of it even at a loss. They hold 150,000 quarters of old or stale frozen beef. The knowledge that this must be sold either at home or abroad has a very depressing effect on all frozen beef, but I would advise graziers jn Australia not to abandon hope, and above all not to make forward sales based on the present low prices in London. The depression is largely due to temporary causes. The old stocks must be worked off sooner or later, also there is a huge fight for control going on between two geat sections of Argentine chilled beef importers. Humanly speaking, these groups cannot fight indefinitely; they must sooner or later come to an understanding, and it may then be found that the stocks of old frozen beef have disappeared. A recovery in prices may then take place. Nobody cares to ’advise for fear of misleading, but against. the pessimists who are prominent I submit that there are many rays of nope that before long the position will materially improve. We know for a certainty that the present low prices have considerably increased consumption. Unfortunately it is chilled and not frozen beef that is most affected.

NEW ZEAT XND MEAT. IMPROVING ITS POSITION. ADDRESS BY SIR. J. ALLEN. Received Feb. 21, 5.5 p.m. London, Feb. 20. Sir James Allen, addressing the Union of London Retail Meat Traders on the Now Zealand meat trade, said it t was unfair that owing to accumulations of stocks in London bad meat had, been sold to consumers, which was damaging to the reputation of the imported article. He explained what New Zealand was doing to improve export arrangements and he appealed to London butchers to sell New Zealand meat as such. | He added that there must be more rapid return of ships from England, improved handling and better methods of treating meat at Smithfield and more hygienic conditions of transporting it to the shops and treatment there. — aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. NEW ZEALAND’S SHARE. PRIME MINISTER’S COMMENTS. SIGNIFICANT FIGURES.

The Press cable, published on Monday morning, containing information extracted from Messrs. Weddel* and Co.’s annual review, was brought under the notice of the Prime Minister by a Wellington Times representative. Mr. Massey commented upon the message as follows:

“The criticism of the New Zealand meat scheme contained in Messrs. Weddel and Co.’s remarks appears to be specially aimed at the idea of establishing a complete compulsory pool during the present season. The suggestions made by Messrs. Weddel and Co., indicating various means by which improvement in the handling and marketing of our meat can be 'brought about, afford specially interesting reading, as they, in many respects, almost exactly reflect the views of those in New Zealand who have thought out the meat scheme. These expressions of opinion, coming from a firm of such high standing, will be of great assistance; and it is “hoped that the New Zealand board and its London agency, when they become established, will have the cooperation of Weddel’s and other important British firms in bringing about this necessary improvement.” Mr. Massey referred also to the figures quoted* by Messrs. Weddel as to the importations of meat into England during 1921. These figures, ho said, demonstrated the magnitude’ of the trade and its importance to the consuming public in Great Britain. New Zealand's share of the trade was an extensive one; and some fio-ures recently prepared from trustworthy records afforded an interesting illustration of this. Taking a pP riod of eight years, commencing in 1913, New Zealand provided no less than 63.21 per cent, of the average annual importations of careases of frozen lamb into the United Kingdom, and 43.23 per cent, of the average annual importations of frozen mutton carcases.” „ ~ “As regards beef, however, lie added. “our ° output was relatively much smaller, constituting only 10.87 per cent, of the United Kingdom’s average annual importations of frozen beef quarters for this eight-year period. We sent no chilled beef to England, and it the import figures for chilled and

frozen beof in quarters were combined, our beef percentage was reduced to appoximately S per cent. “Taking lamb, mutton and beef together, the. records on which the above figures were based showed that New Zealand, over this eight-year period, had provided (on the basis of the number of carcases) 28.8 per cent, of the whole of the average annual importations of frozen meat into the United Kingdom.”