EXPORT MEAT KILLINGS

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24603, 27 June 1945, Page 6

EXPORT MEAT KILLINGS

BIGGER TOTALS AND WEIGHTS

ADVERSE SEASON FOR FRODUtiERS

The expectation is that freezing works in Canterbury will close down at the Aid of June, except at Islington, tne Belfast works of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company, Ltd., and at Pukeuri, which will probably .kill for export into the first Week in July. An estimate has been made that the? total killings in Ctoterbuty this season of sheep and lambs for export will be from 8i per cent, to 9i per cent higher than last season. . Although the schedule of prices fixed by the NeW Zealand Meat Board for heavier weights of lambi was Made more attractive this year, the season has not been conducive to farmers putting on the extra weight. Early, the promise of hCavier-welght lambs was excellent, but because of ,the wet weather, the lambs have not been putting on weight in the last month or so. /file average Weight of iambi slaughtered for export to .Canterbury this season will be only slightly up on last year’s telly: Up to the end of May. the lambs tolled hid an average weight of 3511b, compared With S4}lb last year. With the slowing down Of the lamb Season, more labour has become available for handling beef carcases at the works, abd. to the last month the killings of cattle have doubled those in the preceding month. Adequate labour is now available to deal With the beef available to the works, two of which kill beef the year round. The slaughtering was hot the problem; it was men to do the boning. The general result may be that any increase of cattle slaughtering to Canterbury for the export season is doubtful.