SMITHFIELD MARKET

Press, 26 July 1976, Page 14

SMITHFIELD MARKET

Cooler weather helped stimulate greater retail demand for most meats in England and Wales last week, resulting in a slight improvement in wholesale prices, reports the London office of the New Zealand Meat Producers Board. New Zealand lamb prices remained firm on previous levels; the price gap with domestic, lamb in recent weeks closed to the point i where one major retail chain! has been selling domestic' lamb as a special at prices] lower’ than New Zealand| lamb. Smithfield prices for New Zealand lamb were:

MANUFACTURING BEEF Continued heavy slaughterings of domestic cattle last week have dominated the U.S. beef market and caused a further general price weakening, reports the board's New York office. Once again it is a situation

in which consumption is barely managing to keep up with production, the consumer benefiting but the producer getting so deeply in the red that there has been mounting pressure in Washington for Government assistance in some way or another. Imported beef has also suffered in price, boneless cow beef dropping 2c per lb last .'week to return to the low i levels of a month ago. j However, little New Zealland beef is being offered at i present, traders tending to • hold back what little remains of their 1976 import allocations and awaiting an improved market. American lamb prices have continued to drop, and the edge has been taken off what was a booming demand for New Zealand lamb just a few weeks ago. MUTTON The Japanese mutton market remained quiet again last! week, reports the board’s! Tokyo office. One New Zea-i land offer on carcase mutton' .of 36 U.S. cents per lb for a i650-tonne parcel of non-[ 'board stock has been re-) iceived. ' In general, Japanese users! [at this stage are less active I in procuring mutton, mainly because demand for their' products has not been asi favourable as expected. '

Price Var‘n P P per lb per lb Pt. .. 39.0-39.5 n.c. PM .. 36.5-37.5 n.c. PH .. 32.5-33.5 n.c. YB .. 39-0-39.5 n.c. YM .. 37.0-38.0 (nominal) n.c. 34.0 (nominal) n.c. New Zealand lamb cuts in cartons sold at the following prices: Legs . 56.0-58 0 n.c. Long loins .. 41.0-42.0 + 1.00 Short fores . 29.0-30.0 n.c.