MEAT EXPORTS TO CANADA

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28765, 10 December 1958, Page 6

MEAT EXPORTS TO CANADA

Prospects For Improvement * Prospects for the improvement of New Zealand meat exports, particularly beef, on the Canadian market may be assisted by a heavier consumption in that country. Since the immediate pre* war years there has been a spectacular growth in Canada of total consumption and also of consumption a head, says an article in the December issue of ‘‘Export News,” issued by the Department of Industries and Commerce. The increase reflects not only tastes but also an expanding population and an improvement in living standards, it says. In 1956 consumption of red meats a head was 142.51 b, which was 9.21 b and 24.41 b above the averages for the periods 1946-50 and 1935-39 respectively. Canadian tastes differ considerably from those in New Zealand, says the article. Beef and pork are the popular choices. Lamb and mutton are nowhere near as popular as they are in the Dominion. Beef and pork Accounted for the increase in Canadian consumption "rom the pre-war period to 1957 whereas mutton and lamb consumption had fallen to about half. “So far as New Zealand lamb is concerned it might appear that the future is not as promising as for other meats, but the contraction of the Canadian sheep industry relative to consumption since 1939 has made the development of a valuable market more likely. “New Zealand lamb is more competitive than the Canadian product in terms of quality and price, and if it is promoted and distributed in a way which conforms to the requirements of the Canadian market, it could command a much greater share than is being enjoyed at present,” says the article.