The Dominion. MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 1910. THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 729, 31 January 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 1910. THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE CONFERENCE.

The results of the conference, held in Ohristchurch on Thursday and Friday of last week are what we anticipated they would be, ,_ Definite decisions were arrived at on somo minor points, such for instance as freights, insurance, and the wrap-. pings of frozen mutton and lamb' carcasses, but on the larger qucs-, tions of regulation of supplies, concentration of supplies at one depot in London, the sale of meat through , an organisation of producers, and . the establishment of a uniform Gov-, ernment grade, the meeting very I wisely decided that nothing could be , done, i Strangely, enough the absurd idea was developed that tho freezing companies were not doing their utmost to foster the trade, and some of the speakers indicated that they had lost faith in tho companies.' So long as prices remain high, it would seem there is no question of tho usefulness of the freezing concerns, but the moment there comes a slump then the freezing companies may'bo charged with all sorts of shortcomings. The depression'in values which was most marked last year was duo to the operations of economic laws and was inevitable. The wholesale agents in London did try to hold up prices, but failed, because the' pressure of supplies rendered such of- | forts futile. .Had they quietly forced sales earlier in the season, even at a small sacrifice of prioe, the slump would never have been so serious aB it was. Tho wholesalers were naturally anxious to obtain the best prices possible, and they refrained from forcing the meat on the market, believing that values would'recover. Had this meat been in the hands of an organisation of producers or a Farmers' Co-opera-tive ' Distributing Association,, the slump would have occurred just the same, because the same mistake of holding back in tho hope that the market would recover- would have been made.

- : ~ Regulation :of supplies. from this end ;is' not feasible, and this:.■ the members of the conference - were made to see..' -Nor can7a uniform grade be- obtained, though an aver-' age grade can. The: freezing companies', grading is as good as it can be, and'many of the companies have their grading accepted by . c.Lf. buyers without; question. New Zealand' frozen- meat ,is very, well: distributed now. It is sold in hundreds of .shops throughout .the. United Kingdom, and that it is'well graded and reaches the market in good condition is .proved by the fact that, according to reports, New Zealand meat is frequently ; sold as British grown; As regards storage 'accommodation in England the London stores are' equal, to accommodating' about 3,000,000 carcasses of mutton, and thereare stores in all provincial. towns of importance. In NewZea- | land the cold stores have never been' so'rjously taxed, and we feel sure that' the companies, will provide additional storage . whenever that!'; is : found necessary. It would bo as well for the farmers to .consider j whether of not they are doing their sharo towards maintaining the;; industry. ■ It is easy onough to blame the freezing companies, tho ; c.i.f. buyers, the shipping companies,; the underwriters, the graders, and'the selling agents. Can the sheep-farm-ers not help in the regulation of' the supply of lambs 1 At present the heaviest shipments are made; in April and May, but by earlier lambing more could bo shipped in

February and March. : The farmers can, of course, reply that they aro dependent upon climatic and other conditions, and that; it is essential'

to them to have their fat stock sold just when it is fit. This is quite true, and for that very reason the freezing 'companies have their hands tied. They must accept delivery as soon as the sheep and lambs are fit, arid it is to their interest to get the meat on to the market as early as possible and in the very best condition. . Frozen meat deteriorates if stored for any length of time, and the price recedes in consequence. In the High Commissioner's cable of January 22, published last Tuesday, it was .stated that "the stock of last .season's New Zealand lamb is almost exhausted, and the small lots on the market' are selling at mutton prices (3|d. per lb'.). Tie average price of new,season's New Zealand lamb, other than Canterbury, is 4£d. per lb." Here, we see the 'difference between stale and fresh lamb is as much as ljd. per lb. Holding in store is thus far from, being 'a • profitable matter. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon New. Zealand producers that great changes have'taken place, and are. taking place, in the; frozen ', meat: trade. i The competition is keen and promises to be keener in the near future. At one. time: frozen mutton was the principal frozen meat export of New Zealand, but mutton, has been displaced by lamb. Australia, owing to ; : favourable seasons, is now an exporter of considerable quantities of: miittoh arid lamb and the exports from the Commonwealth' must expand. With about 100,000,000 sheep,, .she is .'now • shipping just about 3.per■cent., while New Zeaproportion is ;25 : per ■..cent, Australia could, very 'easily increase her exports to 10 per cent.,'and that is" a very-likely, contingency. .South' Africa ;w'as:.at one time a .very fair inarket,' but she has, ceased to be that, and. what .'is-; mace .serious,, there is. every prospect of South'.Africa'be-; coming I an.'. exporter of meat' "China is' now an exporter of; pork," gaine,. , and beef; Venezuela is. about to .'export beef, and Canada is a very likely; competitor.;. . If':., thevVLinley, process is porfected largo ; exports', of chilied will ./follow. '•■ Siberia' mnsti in 'due course, be able; to furnish considerable quantities. of,beef, and there are other ' countries that' are', certain'to.. haye. : supplies 'ayaiV able. "The. consumptive. demand, of the; : United' Kingdom can : be, ;.in-'. creased; only. by establishing, a lower range, of',values.';i;As matters ..stand. 1 at; present'' the supply .exceeds .the demand,, but lower prices would no; doubt stimulate .consumption.'i, It is, p' course, possible tci open rip 'a ..new market,-'" but' the/probability) of. Ger : ' many j throwing open; her riiarkets -to frozen, inutton or • lamb-is ..remote: many, /is .very hard-pushed" : for meat! supplies; -for recent: statistics show the folio wing, movementsin the live stqck.:of;that.country :',-■ : :■/?v-'-'; ;; : ;

;• '■.•'■• '. Cattle.■; ' ' .Pigs. "' 1883'-,.:._v -19,189,715 15,786,764 :■ 9,206,195 ;1907. : ~.„.. "7,681,072. 20,589,856'. 22,080,008 In Germany a pig is three; times -as valuable as 1 and the de-. mapd: there'; is for ;; beef and pork; rather than' for?mutton and lamb.: New. Zealand farmors' must learn to' recognise'thestrongth' of the compe-' tition'knd 'the • limitations'; of ' : ; the market; and farm to suit the changed conditions.^';'