DEARER MEAT.
VEAL AND MUTTON.
BUTCHERS RAISE PRICES
SHORTAGE OF FAT STOCK,
At a meeting of the Auckland Master | Butchers' Association last night it was decided to raise tile price of all veal and mutton, except loin chops, by Id a | pound as from next Thursday. This lias been forced on the butchers by the sharp riise in the prices of fat stock at the West Held and country sales during the past month, due mainly to a seasonal shortage. Yealer calves, for instance, which were quoted at Westfield from 00/ to 92/ a ' head on June 20, wore selling between J 90/ and 100/ last week. This represents an average rise per head of about 11/. ' ' Fat sheep, too, have been in short supply at the sales for the past three weeks, and the price has gone up by some (i/ a head. The butchers state that they now have to pay 30/ for a prime wether which would have cost 20/ a month ago. A similar advance has been reported in the prices of fat ewes and lambs. The absence of adequate supplies of fat sheep and vealer calves, is mainly due. ill tlie opinion of local butchers and stock dealers, to seasonal causes. Every year about this time there is a scarcity of good fat stock owing to the lack of feed, and to the difficulty of fattening the beasts in ,cold, wet weather, even ] when feed is plentiful. This year, however. the shortage lias developed earlier and has been more severe than in former years, especially in mutton and veal. Lambs Go Home. Experts attribute the shortage in the ease of mutton to two main factors — the higher prices of wool and the quantity of frozen lamb exported. With good wool prices ruling, a large number of ewes have been wanted for breeding, and auctioneers point out that in some cases farmers have bought ewes at high prices out of the fat sheep pens for this purpose. An important factor is the great increase in the export of lambs in recent years. For four successive seasons the Dominion sent close on 0,000,000 careases out of the country. Similarly the high price of veal can be attributed largely to the effees of the bobby calf trade. In the 193")-30 season killings of bobby calves were much greater than those of the previous season, the Farmers' Freezing Company's figures advancing from 175,203 to 323,830 head. Many farmers sold stock last spring at the high prices ruling, and consequently fewer were kept for vealers.
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 171, 21 July 1936, Page 5
Word Count
425DEARER MEAT. Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 171, 21 July 1936, Page 5
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