FROZEN PRODUCE LETTER

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21976, 28 December 1936, Page 11

FROZEN PRODUCE LETTER

BEEF TRADE WITH THE ARGENTINE transport experiments (From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, December 3. All sections of the meat trade have expressed satisfaction at the terms ox the new trade agreement with the Argentine. A duty of i'd per lb on chilled beef from that country had been freely prophesied, although, at the commencement ot the negotiations, the home meat trade was prepared lor the duty to rank as high as Lid per id. Some surprise is fell that the duty is not to be on that level, particularly in view of the protests raised by the farm'ers’ organisations, who have pointed out that the i‘d per lb rate will raise only £3,000,000 towards the Payment of a £5.000,000 subsidy. The stipulation that Argentine shipments of chilled beef shall be reduced, m the event of the necessity arising for the further regulation of supplies in the United Kingdom, is also regarded as a wise move, for it permits the expansion of home production without the disturbing feature of over-intense foreign competition. Incidentally, the door is kept open for the future large-scale development of the trade in Empire chilled beef. Although the new agreement is only framed to. cover a three-year period, it is not anticipated that the home industry will have attained sufficient recovery to be able to dispense with the assistance of the subsidy. At the same time, the impasse encountered during the earlier stages of the negotiations ending in the new agreement proved to the Government the folly of long-term trade agreements which make no provision for unexpected crises arising in connexion with home industries. Although there will be, in addition, a duty of 2-3 d per lb on frozen beef, and 20 per cent, ad valorem on other beef, actual imports of these commodities from the Argentine 1 are almost negligible compared with those received from New Zealand and Australia, and the revenue which will be received from these sources will not amount to any considerable figure. Mr Morrison’s Policy As was anticipated, Mr Morrison’s policy with regard to agriculture generally and the home market meat producer in particular, is in close accord with that of his predecessor in office, Mr Walter Elliot. Like the former Minister for Agriculture, Mr Morrison is anxious to give ing a trial, although not on such an extensive scale as the protagonists of the system have desired. It is now intended that five or six factory-abat-toirs, on the lines suggested by Sir Francis Boys, arc to be erected and put into operation “in favourable districts,’’ according to a statement made by the Minister. The popular interpretation of the term "favourable districts’’ is that the early experiments will be made in certain Midland and Northern areas, where large quantities of cow beef are consumed. The better class of beef producers have complained that the presence of so much inferior cow beef on the market has had a depressing effect upon the values of prime steers, and frequent representations have been made to Whitehall that such beef should be canned, and not be permitted to be pitched on the hooks. Details of the preliminary plans in regard to centralised slaughtering and other matters concerned with the home producer will appear in the Livestock Industry Bill, which is now ready for presentation to Parliament. The Minister for Agriculture has dispelled any illusions with rpgard to guaranteed prices, hoWever, by his statement that meat differed widely from wheat, and there were great risks to permanency in any policy which had an unlimited call upon public funds. It is now known that the Government will call a world meat conference early in the New Year, and that, should the conference fail to agree, the Government will itself take powers to regulate imports should the need arise. Testing Refrigerator Cars Interesting tests have just been completed to arrive at a comparison between two types of refrigerator rail way waggons, one using roof ice bunkers, and the other end bunkers, for the carriage of beef. The spread in temperature between the warmest and coldest points in thq two cars was significant. It ranged from 16 degrees to seven degrees Fahrenheit in the end tank car, and only from four degrees to two degrees Fahrenheit in the roof tank car, the latter carrying 21,3001b of beef, and the end tank car being loaded with 21,9001b of beef in quarters. The end tank car used 40001b of ice and 4801b of salt over the test period, while the roof tank car used 16001b of ice and 200 ib of salt. It took over 48 hours after the time the records were commecned before the temperature at the warmest point in the end tank ear was reduced below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, in spite of the fact that the coldest point was uncomfortably close to the freezing point of the beef (30 degrees Fahrenheit) during this time. On the other hand it required less than 24 hours to reduce the temperature of the warmest point in the roof tank car below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest point being still above 37 degrees Fahrenheit. This indicated that, had it been desired, a more concentrated cooling mixture could have been employed to reduce both temoeratures more rapidly to a lower level without danger of freezing the meat. Although it is difficult to estimate what saving in cooling mixture could be effected by the use of overhead cooling, the result indicated that it would be considerable, particularly in extremely warm weather. The improvements in ordinary railway refrigerator cars suggested as an outcome of the tests, include redesigning the ceiling construction so as to provide for the circulation of air completely round the tanks, thus greatly increasing the cooling air. Meat racks should be so designed that condensate will be conducted to the side gutters provided for the tanks, while light alloys should be used in the structural members of tho car to reduce the total weight, while the use of aluminium foil insulation is recommended to reduce the. odours which often result from the use of hair felt when not adequately protected against moisture. It is also suggested that consideration should be given to the use of metal sheeting both inside and out, to increase the space allowable for insulation, and to permit highly polished surfaces to minimise absorption and radiation effects. Smithfield Labour Troubles The undercurrent of labour unrest at Smithfield is increasing, and on many sides grave fears of a strike in all sections of the market during Christmas week are felt. In just over 21 days, three “lightning” strikes have occurred, the first among porters employed by the carriers, the second involving frozen meat pitchers, and the third which was not settled at the time of writing, among pitchers who struck work in sympathy with shopmen employed b£ W. Weddel and Company, who went on strike because of the employment of non-union labour. The “sympathetic” strikers eventually returned to duty, but afterwards refused to handle meat intended fo» pitching or) Weddel’s stalls. In consequence, theii employers retaliated by declaring a lockout until the men were prepared to work unconditionally. For three days frozen and chilled meal has been scarce on Smithfield in consequence, but as the bulk of the retailers have been obtaining supplies direct from the cold stores, values have not advanced to any appreciable extent. The jobber's have been badly hit on account of the chilled beef shortage, and have had to turn to home-killed supplies, which, fortunately, have been far heavier than would normally have been required.