EXPORT OF MEAT.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 244, 15 October 1925, Page 4

EXPORT OF MEAT.

POSITION IN ARGENTINE. « CONTINENTAL » QUALITY. TRUSTS SQUEEZE SMALL FIRMS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) PARAGUAY, July 28. Since the very successful exhibition made by New Zealand shippers at the Valermo (Buenos Aires) International Show, great interest has been aroused in 1 lie Argentine in New Zealand sheep and <attle. Several shipments of stud stock have been made and others, it is said, will soon follow from New Zealand. For some time the attention of the Argentine Minister of Agriculture has lieen directed to the best methods of preventing fradulent manipulation of Argentine meat in the European markets. A special conference was held, which was attended by representatives of Swift, Armour. La Blanca, Wilson, SansLnena, I/as Talmas and other freezing works. After many methods had been suggested, preference was given to the stamping of Argentine exported meat with indelible ink aa being less -wasteful and more practical than any other method. So far, howpviT, there has been much deliberation, with little positive result. The Las Palmas works, which have now changed their title to the EnglishDutch Meat Company, have recently suspended slaughtering owing to the fact that the European market "was overstocked, with a consequent reduction of prices. The Campana freezing works was about to suspend operations for the same reason. Those Argentine cattle - farmers and breeders whose herds were mostly composed of inferior breeds, found . themselves in an unpleasant position after the close of the Great War, especially during the three or four critical years which followed it. During the war boom, cattle of all breeds were accepted ■ by the Argentine freezing companies, so great was the demand for frozen, chilled or tinned meat during that period. At the close of the war, however, the demand for inferior cattle entirely fell off, and the breeders of such stock found themselves in an awkward position. Prices . fell, and the outlook for this class of cattle seemed dismal in the extreme. The freezing companies, however, were not slow to take advantage of the situation. They saw their opportunity for developing -a new field for their produce in Continental Europe, where already quite a considerable market for Argentine meat has been created, principally in Germany, Belgium, France and Italy, and more recently Spain and Portugal. In order to meet this hew demand, the two great groups which, form the so-called Meat Ring of Argentina (the English group headed by Vestey Brothers and the American group by Swift and Armour) found it necessary to.erect new freezing "works, specially designed for the slaughter and preparation for market of inferior breeds of rattle known here as the "Continental" class, being mostly intended for consumption on the Continent of Europe. Even cattle from the tick-infested zones were purchased for thie purpose. Tna transport of such cattle to outside markets had previously been forbidden by law. Nevertheless the Minister of Agri- ' culture was induced to allow the transport of tick-infested cattle on condition that they were kept strictly isolated. At first sight, this state of affairs may appear to be all in favour of the freezing companies; but as the freezing companies are now paying comparatively high prices for inferior cattle, while the meat pro- • duced f rom them is sold on the Continent, at a very low price, it is evident that the transaction leaves then! little or no! profit. Some light, however, is thrown on this subject by a writer in the "Annals" of the Argentine Sural Society. According to this writer, the new Continental market has been specially developed by the Meat Ring in order to eventually create a market for vheir chilled beef, for the meat now exported to the Continent is mainly of the frozen class, Which ia sold at specially cheap rates. In other words* it ie claimed that the Continental trade in frozen moat is only a sort of propaganda to pave the way for an export trade in chilled meat after the European public have become accustomed to the Argentine frozen meat. This, in fact, is only a repetition of the process which resulted in the capture of the English market for the Argentine chilled meat. Butj according to the same authority, there is still another object behind the movement. The Meat Ring are now paying a relatively high price for cattle of inferior stock, •a. procedure which is , severely , , felt by the smaller freezing works, which rely to a large extent on inferior breeds, but are unable to pay • the high prices offered by the Ring. It is claimed that the other object of the Meat Ring is to "freeze out" these smaller competitors and compel them to abandon the field. The reported closing (or intended dosing) of some of these . smaller works is attributed to the opera* •itions Of the Ring. These Smaller companies are estimated to supply at present about 12 per cent of the beef exports, the English companies handling about 2S per cent and the American-Argentine companies about 60 per cent. The creation of a . Continental market for Argentine meat may hot be altogether disadvantageous to New Zealand and Australia, as it tends to divert to thie market a large portion of the meat which would otherwise find its way to England, the only market in which. Antipodean producers are at present greatly interested. The reports that Australian meat exporters have successfully discovered a method of chilling meat which would stand the long journey to England and enable it to compete .with the Argentine produce, has aroused some interest liere, but is generally believed to be exaggerated.