NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9125, 8 June 1895, Page 8

NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE.

(FROM OCB OW>* COBRESPON'DEXT.) LONDON, April 26. Mr Charle3 Pharazyn, who recently returned from the Continent, has, according to hia wont, been looking energetically into all matters concerning New Zealand produce. Hβ has come to the conclusion that the cold storage idea, i.e. the holding of produce in refrigerating stores until a good market should offer, hais been not only a ghastly failure but a veritable curse. It has induced people to hold on their meat or butter in a per:eci.ly vain hope of realising better prices than those which prevailed at the time, the result being that the ijroduce deteriorated in quality by keeping and when ultimately forced on the market not only sold at a lower price than could have been obtained before it was stored—irrespective of all the cost of storage —but also brought down "by the run" the prices of New Zealand produce generally. " I am afraid we must clearly recognise," said Mr Pharazyn, " that we cannot keep either mutton or butter for an indefinite period without serious loss of quality. It was once supposed that when mutton was frozen ib could be left- in a cold chamber»for years without deteriorating. This is now pioved to be a grave mistake. Meat does deteriorate very much when kept long in a refrigerator, and we shall have to face that fact. We must have prompt sales, and make up our minds that if the meat will not sell at a good price now it will sell for still less after long storage and leave us out of pocket for the charges as well." " Before there was such extensive provision for cold storage," continued Mr Pharazyn, " the agents at this end coula stop excessive shipments. But with such vast space available for cold storage it is very difficult to prevent colonial producers shipping Home tne meat to their own detriment. Bub this has done and ia doing the trade great harm, and it is hopeless to look for any material improvement/ in prices until matters are put on a satisfactory footing." " What we want," he said, '* is a more vigorous and judicious pushing of the meat at this end. Prompt sales and no storage— these are the reforms chiefly needed. And then they are freeziug all aorta of sheep that ought never to be sent Home. Tne reason is that such extensive freezing works have been erected in New Zealand that it is often impossible to keep them going with the sheep properly suited for exportation, and so they freeze all and sundry to keep the works going. The carcases are sent to England, and proving to be inferior in quality or of the wrong size give the meat generally a bad name and bring down the

prices." "I had a long talk the other day," con_ tinned Mr Pharazyn," ''with Mr Hastings" Miller, who is a very large operator in tne dairy produce trade. He expressed a very strong opinion that New Zealand cannot hope to compete favourably with Denmark as regards butter—adducing the reasons which have worked so adversely during the past season—but that New Zealand's true function is that of a cheese producer. He maintains that Denmark can always beat New Zealand in the butter market, but that New Zealand can easily hold her own with cheese. , '

"But" concluded Mr Pharazyn, " the main thing in whatever branch of trade we touch is superior quality. We must improve our quality if we care to keep our markets. People may be slow and behindhand in many ways over here, but they do things well) and everything is reduced almost to an exact science. Whether we send from New Zealand wool or meat or butter or cheese or fruit, it must all be of the best quality and suitably and attractively packed, or else we may as well leave it alone. Nothing but the best is worth sending to London." These hints from one of New Zealand's shrewdest and ablest colonists ought to be carefully noted in New Zealand. To their truth and soundness I am able to bear the most emphatic testimony. Remarking on the excellent quality of the American chilled beef, which is certainly equal to anything I have ever tasted either in England or in New Zealand, I asked Mr Pharazyn whether New Zealand could not enter into,this field also, "Not yet," he replied, "at present beef fetches too good a price in New Zealand for exporting to pay. Unless our cattle should increase greatly it would not be worth while exporting beef, and just now cattle seem to be rather decreasing than increasing, owing to the use of milk for dairy purposes instead of rearing calves. So there is nothing to be done at present in New Zealand beef." Mr Phaiazyn expressed hia opinion that the reappearance of the barbed wire staples in recent shipments of meat was due to a lot of old stock, long in store, having been sent Home, and not to the continued use of these lethal instruments, although he did not employ this opprobrious language. The recent extremely large arrivals of frozen mutton has for the present completely upset all hope of any immediate improvement in prices; in fact, the refrigerating stores are already becoming congested, and there will be some difficulty in providing storage accommodation for the next few weeks. So Messrs H. S. Fitter and Sons inform mc. And they add this rather disheartening information. "Unfortunately, we have alao to report a very serious discovery that has just been made, namely, that many of the New Zealand sheep and lambs are unsound ; some are only tainted, but others are perfectly green aud putrid. As we have before pointed out, it is almost impossible, in many cases, to detect this unsoundness before the carcase is cut up, consequently, as many of these have been sent ail over the country, it is causing our customers much inconvenience and loss of trade. Some of the shipments lately to hand have, when discharged, had a very stale appearance, and have been very much off colour; this at a time when the market is overstocked has a very damaging effect on prices." This is bad news, but I am afraid it must be accepted as authentic.

Nor have I anything very cheery to report as to the bntter market. Messrs Page and Sena write as follows:—"The values of Australasian butter have again considerably declined, the very heavy arrivals in March haviog caused great accumulations of stocks, and consequently low prices have been accepted to effect sales. The quality of seme of the leading brands of Australian has been rather below the usual standard, and this also has tended to weaken the market. A considerable portion of the New Zealand recently landed has been of very inferior quality, and the selling pricee of auch have ranged from 38a to 50s per cwt." In view of the great reduction in the value of dairy produce Mr Henry Reynolds, whose energy in promoting the interests of the trade is ever unflagging, has had interviews with the managers of the Shaw, Savill and Albion and New Zealand Shipping Companies, and has endeavoured to iuduce those Companies to reduce the rate of freight on New Zealand butter and cheese by one-eighth of a penny per lb. He obtained a promise that the matter should receive careful consideration, but no definite answer has yet been given.

Mr Reynolds has also interviewed Mr Ward on the sams subject in its various phases. Mr Ward promised to do all he coald to persuade the shipping companies to lower their chargee while pricee remained so low. Air Reynolds pointed out forcibly to the Colonial Treasurer the urgent need of leaving no stone unturned to secure all possible advantages that may be available in the severe tight now going on for the English dairy market between New Zealand on the one hand and the Danes and Swedes on the other.

This week Mr Reynolds tells mc the demand for batter is slightly better, buc prices have not improved. "Finest" butter is quoted at 74a to 783, "good" at 663 to 70a, and there is any quantity of " ordinary " in the market at 40s to 503. The lonic has landed her cheese in firstclass condition. Her batter is not yet oat. Unfortunately, cheese is down to-day 2a to 4s, and prime quality fetches only 42s to 445, good 40s to 42a. The reason Iα the fall of price is that Canadian holders are afraid to hold on any longer, and are now pushing their stuff on the market at 43a to 465, and so bare brought down prices. I hear that a frightful amount of money has been lost this season in the Canadian as well as in the colonial dairy trade. Canned meats are in f»ir demand, with a steady market at unchanged rates. With tbn ChrUtmM j number of the

Timber Trades Journal a chart was given away profesaiDg to show all the timber producing countries in the world. New Zealand wae omitted altogether, and kauri pine was allotted to tropical Australia! Mr Freyberg, the timber expert, forwarded six copies of the paper to the Government, and the Premier took action ac once. The editor of the "greatest timber journal in the world" first satisfied himself by personal investigation that New Zealand had a magnificent supply of timber, and he then at Mr Frey berg's suggestion truthfully explained that the chart had been lying teu yeare in his otfice before he unluckily issued it, and ten years ago New Zealand timber was uuknowu, but henceforth the colony will take her proper position as one of the great timber producing countries of the n-orld, owing to the energy adopted during the last few moutns. Wnat a comment this atfords upon the parsimony that would restrict the resources of the Agents-General of the colonies !

Enquiries are being made as to return cargoes of timber from New Zealand to be brought by vessels which have been chartered to convey coals to some eastern naval coasting stations. Wool has a continued tendency towards improvement, and hopes are entertained by some very capable judges that the coming sales may show atiii further advance in price. I hear that several Australian Governments are likely to send timber experts to London with the view of promoting their timber trade. It is to be hoped New Zealand will maintain the lead she has obtained through the very judicious step of sending Home Mr Freyberg. New Zealand mutton, though there have been no arrivals during the week, is still falling in price, eveu the best Canterbury being worih ouly.3£'i, while other sorts range dowuward from' 2|J to Even these prices do not seem to reduce the heavy stocks in hand. All the stores are choked. New Zealand lamb fetches 4d to 4£l. As regards butter I was talking yesterday to Mr Vagg, of the Melbourne Chilled Butter and Produce Company, who has recently visited the Danish and Swedish butter-producing districts. His view is much more cheering than was that of Mr Miller. He says :—" New Zealand and Australia can beat Denmark and Sweden if they stick to it. Denmark aad Sweden cannot produce at such low prices as the colonies because of their climate and the groater amount of stock feeding required. They are now at about the end oi their tether, and have lost money all this season. They made nothing, and have only lived out of the savings of past years made before colonial competition came into the field. Let the colonists keep up heart, and they must in the long run win the present fight for the Loudon market." Still this of course does mean lower prices, for a time at any rate, for milk, and there must be a re-adjustment alike of land values and of freight charges. But the prize in view is worth some little preliminary sacrifice. Mr Henry Reynolds hopes to start for Now Zealand in about three weeks —by the next San Francisco mail if possible—to travel through the colony and explain the situation as it exists at present, and is so materially modified sines he was in the colony last year. He will make only a short stay, returning also via San Francisco.