BUTTER AND MEAT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 39, 16 February 1943, Page 4

BUTTER AND MEAT

PRODUCTION FIGURES

REVIEW BY MINISTER (0.C.) WHANGAREI,' this day. The clearances of butter and cheese up to the end of January were better than last season, which was almost a record, said the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Barclay, when speaking at Hikurangi last night. Stocks at the end of January were: Butter, 30,000 tons; cheese, 21,000. With first priority given to, dairy produce it seemed that, even with restricted shipping, butter and cheese clearance would continue to be satisfactory, and any shipping disability would fall entirely on meat. For the season to January 31 the butter gradings of 82,000 tons were up 8 per cent compared with the same period of last season, while cheese gradings of 62,000 tons were down 33 per-cent.

Meat Killings Decrease

Meat killings for the past four months of 98,000 tons decreased by 10 per cent; lamb killings decreased by 580,000, the "average weights being lower by three-quarters of a pound per carcase. The Minister expressed the hope that the increased beef killings would be maintained as beef was required for the services. Pig meat killing for export had been more than halved, but the local market and service requirements resulted in a larger number of pigs going direct into those channels. No Wiltshire sides were being exported to Britain this year, all being required for the services. The total stocks of meat in the freezing stores at January 31 were 71,000 tons, a decrease of 27 per cent compared with the same period of the previous season.