BACON AND PORK

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LIV, Issue 9023, 31 October 1925, Page 7

BACON AND PORK

PROSPECTS F()H EXPORT. Speaking at the annual meeting ol the Inglewood Co-operative Bacon Co., the chairman of directors. Mr A, Morton, who recently visited the Old Country, reported in optimistic terms upon the I'umro prospects of the industry. He >aid that just before he 101 l New Zealand the company made its first shipment on consignment for the- season under review ami this was followed by two others later m the season. He saw these pigs ami was satisfied that they had been properly handled, and that they went into the stores in first-class condition. It was very pleasing to see pigs sent by the company on the English market, but it was more gratifying still to hear the expressions ] of satisfaction with the quality of the pigs. buyers and carers had told him that of all the pigs received into England they preferred the New Zealand pigs, which most nearly approached those received from their own farmers in England and Scotland. They were anxious t:> enter into contracts for tegular monthly supplies of bacon pigs. Ho had pointed out, however, that this was impossible at the present time, 'but that in the future as the industry grew Tiere, lie had .no doubt they woidd ho able to maintain regular monthly /supplies. As the result of his inquiries from merchants and buyers, and in the various markets, lie was quite satisfied that, so long as they produced, killed 1 and shipped the same class of pigs as I they had handled during the last twelve months, they would have no difficulty in finding a market. He could not say anything in regard to price, but the tendency was for it to go up rather than come down. In any case, so long J as they obtained prices equal to those | which had been ruling last season, and I which were still being maintained in the United Kingdom, he was satisfied it was going to be a payable trade. They could not possibly get such prices in New Zealand, and so long as they maintained their high quality they had nothing to fear so far as competition was concerned. Just at the time lie was leaving England a movement was being launched which had for its object preference for Empiiregrown foodstuffs and, if this movement was taken 1 up, as it was expected it would be, the demand for Empire produced goods would be bettter than it had ever been, and those engaged in raising pigs would benefit with producers of other produce. When they took into account the fact that New Zealand only killed about a quarter of a million pigs each year and , that Denmark, which was only about the size of the Hawke’s Bay province, killed two and a half million pigs every year and turned them into bacon, they would have some idea of what the possibilities out here were. Although he did not think for one moment that New Zealand was likely to approach these figures in the near future, he did leel that there was an excellent future in connection with a largely increased production hero, and that it would pay farmers to look at the business in the way the Danish farmer did, not as a side-lino, but as one of the mainstays of the dairying and agricultural business.