The Frozen Meat Trade

Bruce Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3016, 29 November 1898, Page 2

The Frozen Meat Trade

INTERVIEW WITH MR WEDDEL. In the coarse of a conversation with c, member of the staff of the 'N Z. Times ' j (Wellington), Mr W. Weddel, of Meaera ■ Weddel and Son?, meat buyerp, of London, expressed himßelf as being on the whole satisfied with the progress made by the meat freezing industry. To aae his own words, " The trade haa gone abead marvellonsly. It baa been in exiiteooe about 16 .years, aod now over. .30... per,. cent.. of. the mutton that is ooneumed in Great Britain is in ported frtzan. It is a wonderful repord fo;' it is practically only during the paßt seven or eight yearß that it has assumed Buph extensive; proportions. The natural prejudice of the people -bad first to be ©veroojme, and that has now to a great extent disappeared;" With referenoe to prioes, Mr Wedded aaperta that they have been well maintained throughout the Beaaon, the most satisf aotory • being the steady demand for lamb, of which Njew Zealand furnishes a very large proportion. Mr Weddel thinks that the lamb trfkde will oontinue active, provided the quality is not allowed to deteriorate. " There is a belief oarrent ia this oolony ttyat New Zealand f roz m mutton does nob receive fair treatment ; that a combination of; Smithfield batchers prevent the free dUtrjibution of the meat, and help to depress prioes to euit their own ends. Is there any foundation in fact for this belief?' aiked our representative, Mr Weddel wm emphatic in his reply. "The idea of a butchers' ring operating to the detriment of frozen meat in an illusionThe meat gets as good a ohanoe as it iv possible under the circumstances. We sell as muoh meat outaide of Smithfield market aa in it. The ' ring 'is a myth." " How about the quality, does it show aiiy falling off?" " Wei), no 1 The quality is fairly maintained in shipments trom the North Island t and I am pleased to Bay that the average of the Wellington shipments shows an improve* ment ia this refipect." Aiked if anything oould be done to facilitate distribution, Mr Woddel spoke freely and decidedly on the urgent necessity fqr a sorting-ahed in London. He explained that a vessel arriving at the docks with a oargo of frozen meat was impeded in the discharge through the multiplicity of brands. "There may be 800 different marks in the oargo consigned to about 10 to 12 salesmen, who must have their buyers alongside the veaael as aoon as she ia dooked. Te sort out these 800 or bo different branch and give delivery to the several consignees ia sometimes a work for weeks. Tfce sorting haa to be done to a great extent in the ship's hold, and ia a tedions work, involving the maximum of handling and interminable delay. A aortiDg-ahed into which the oarg > could be discharged promptly would be a diatinot advantage, it would reduce the □amber of damaged carcases very materially ; at any rate, one would have the ohanoe of being able to fix upon the source of the mieonief. Ac pteaeut when meat is delivered from she store damaged you tackle the Btort • keeper, who utouoiy declares it waa delivered in a damaged condition from the ship. Ihe ship-owners Bay, 'We are not-to blame ; the carcases worn delivered aoft to us iv Mew Zealand,' and bo on, that you oannot fix the blame on the right persons. I maintain that if the whole cargo were delivered automatically into a sorting- shed whicu could be done in about four days instead of four weeke aa is frequently the case at present, and che different mar&s wore then sorted in the shed, they would be examined to ace whether they had suffe.ed any damage on ship-board. " That sorting-abed would also tend to lessen tiia oost of delivery to the provinces , for the dock oompauiea have agreed to deliver to tbe railway companies from the aorting-ebed, oh&rgiug merely a quay rate, and will noc luoiac on the meat passing tnrougb their permanent stores. This would great. y facilitate the economical distribution to the provinoes. " " dow will tbia effoot a shipment to a single ooaeigoee ?" queried the pressman. •• There never has been, and there is not now, any attention for forcing through the sorting-shed such consignments. Please make that very clear," insisted Mr Wediel. On a suggestion that the sorting-abed would 6,dd to the ohargee, Mr Weddel main taint d* the contrary ; at any raie he did not auppoee it would exceed the tr fliog sum of l£d per oaroaee, but tbe advantages far outweighed tbe ooat. " Has tbe assistance of the New Zealand Government been invoked V " Yea and I am glad to Bay that your Government haa promised to aaaist the movement in every way financial and otherwise." Mr Weddel etated that he hoped to have an inte view with Mr Seddon before proceeding south. " How will thia effect tbe ship-owners ?' It should effect a considerable saving to them through the more prompt discharge of their vessels, and aa evidence of this all th e shipowners engaged in the .New Zealand trade are willing to pay a proportionate mm towards the erection of a aor ling-abed.' The export poultry trade, Mr Weddel thinks, ought to be developed, and he assured the interviewer that during the season good pricea were obtainable whioh would leave a fair margin to profit to the poultry farmer. Oa the autj ct of the dairy industry Mr Weddel preferred to be Bilent. not wishing toolash with Mr Ruddiok, Iho Government dairy expert, who wan a fellow-passenger of Mr Weddel'n on tbe Warrimo.