PIG RAISING

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXI, Issue 10923, 24 September 1932, Page 3

PIG RAISING

REDUCTION IN EXPORT. The Chairman, Mr J. E. Makgill, in his address delivered at the annual meeting of shareholders of the Auckland Farmers Freezing Co., Ltd., yesterday, stated that the killing of pigs .this past season showed a reduction of equal to 33 per cent. The reduction for the Province in export works’ killings was seemingly 18,755 head giving 20.7 per cent, of reduction on the previous season. The Dominion total of pigs at January 31, 1931, showed only a reduction of 2.3 per cent. It is possible this reduction was increased during the 1931-3 2 season, The number of sows one .year and over shows, however, an increase at January 31, 1931 over 1930 of 5.3 per cent, for the Dominion and 9 per cent, for Auckland, and Auckland owns 48.7 per cent, of the Dominion total. Pricey were low and this class of stock fluctuates very markedly in sympathy with price movements. Our reduced killing was, of course, partly caused by the New Zealand Co-operative Pig Marketing Association deciding to accept a cut rate quotation from the Westfield Freezing Company during this past season. We had brought the rate quoted for treating pigs down to the proper economic level, to be in leasonable balance with other products, so did not see our way to enter into 1 a rate-cutting competition. We have been twitted with failing to help a struggling sister farmers’ concern by not further cutting our rates to the Pig Marketing concern. The early history of the Pig Marketing Association if truly and fully recorded, would show how much our Company did to help the Pig Marketing Association in every possible reasonable way, which we think should not be lost sight of by the farmers interested when considering the matter. It shows the genuine efforts our Company made to assist in fostering and building up this effort on the pig producers’ part to evolve an improved method of catering for the export trade in pigs. We have for years past urged the pig producers to make greater efforts towards catering for the requirements of the huge trade in pig products in Great Britain so as to secure a share of this important branch of production which should go hand in hand with our great dairy industry. The very high place to which our brand has already achieved on the British market for frozen pigs, proves the care and attention our management have given in assisting towards this goal. There has been a very heavy supply of European cured pig meat concentrated on the British market during the past season which has had a serious effect on the price levels, not only of pig meats but also all other meats.