AUSTRALIAN FROZEN MEAT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7948, 25 January 1906, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN FROZEN MEAT.

BECOMING IMPORTANT AGAIN. Frozen meat is onoe more assuming an important place among the exports from Australia, says the rastorailsts' Review. What may be termed the first—and most important—Lalf of the current season has just closed and during the six months the comparatively large total of 359,000 carcases mutton, 870,000 carcases lamb, and 17,500 quarters of beef cleared the coast for England, in addition to 319,000 carcases mutton, 16,000 carcases lamb, and 316,700 quarters beef shipped to South Afrioa, and a fair quantity sent to outside ports in the East and Mediterranean. These figures may not seem particularly large when placed side by side with New Zealand's total output of 920,000 she<*p, 1,443,000 lambs, and 51,000 quarters beef for her pest six months of last seasbn, or of South America's total for the same term of 1,711,000 frozen sheep, 31,U00 lambs, and 1,065.Q00 quarters beef (including chilled), but when compared with the local returns for the months of Jnly December, 1904, they show quite remarkable increases. Take lambs, for instnance# The increase in exports to United Kingdom and Afrioa is, roughly, 335,000 carcases, or 60 percent.; with beef the difference is represented by 44,000 quarters, or' 50 per cent., while with mutton the increase is 367,000 carcases, equal to 115 per cent. The figures may $e taken as an indication of what Australia is likely to do when she has good seasons and is fully stocked again, and provided there is a reasonable amount of rain in tha pastoral districts during the next seven or eight months, a still larger increase may be expected, as up till now, owing to the low numbers of the stock, there has been a heavy demand for re-stooking purposes. Prices of meat on the world's market—particularly London—is, of course, also a large factpr in determining the quantity exported from a producing country. There has been a deoided slump in London for the past three months at least, but this has not so far affected the grower muoh in Aus tralia, exporters having their engagements" to fulfil. The producer has undoubtedly bad hold of the best end of the stick this year, but unless the condition of the trade improves materially at home before next season starts he will either h'ave to take less for his stook, or else hold, which in most cases would not be convenient or profitable.