SMITHFIELD MARKET

Press, 23 August 1976, Page 14

SMITHFIELD MARKET

The wholesale meat trade in England and Wales was quiet last week, reports the London office of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board. Although there was a further seasonal increase in home-killed lamb supplies, prices for New Zealand lamb remained firm, with wholesalers continuing to carefully control their sales. Prices for New Zealand

Nominal offerings of New Zealand lamb cuts in cartons sold at the following prices:— Legs .. 60.0-62.0 n.c. Long loins .. 45.0-46.0 n.c. Short fores .. 28.0-30.0 —O.aO

MANUFACTURING BEEF Prices for New Zealand beef in the United States rose at the end of last week amid increasing concern that

the supply of imported beef will be very low in the last three months of this year, ' reports the board’s New, York office. This rise brought prices back to their level of ; eight days ago and followed • a week of light trading as 1 domestic supplies of process- ( ing beef increased. Higher supplies of pork and poultry have also ] reduced prices, and improved ] retail sales of these meats at the expense of beef. The recovery in feed-lot cattle prices, which would benefit imported and domestic processing beef, has been delayed by higher-than-expected total beef production. United States beef production for the year to date is a record 14.8 billion lb, up 11 per cent from a year earlier. ’ New Zealand cowbeef is currently fetching 67-68 I cents per lb, c.i.f., better > than some recent prices, but : well below those of three or t four months ago.

lamb on Smithfield were:— PL .. 41.0-42.0 PM .. 38.0-39.0 n.c. PH .. 35.0-35.5 n.c. YL .. 41.0-41.5 n.c. YM .. 38.0-39.0 n.c. (nominal YH .. 35.0 + 1.50 (nominal)