MEAT EXPORT TRADE

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 93, 14 January 1926, Page 13

MEAT EXPORT TRADE

AUCKLAND WORKS ACTIVE

EXCELLENT SEASON ANTICIPATED Br Telegraph—Special Correspondent. Auckland, January 13. The killing season for the meat export trade is progressing satisfactorily in the Auckland province. Prices are not at extreme figures, but there appears to be a stability in the market that tends to inspire confidence. Minor it net nations have taken place since the season opened, but judging from recent reports from London, New Zealand meat producers should again have an excellent season. The first shipments of meat from the Dominion in any quantity will not reach England until the end of January or qarly in February, ■but the indications are that satisfactory prices for mutton and lamb will bo ' obtained. The market for beef during recent yen's has been controlled practically by' the exports of chilled beef from the Argentine, and this season holds little promise of any great change. The prospects for beef raisers. however, are distinctly better than they were two or three seasons ago.

Slaughtering activities this season hitherto have been mainly confined to mutton and milk lambs. Buyers for export have been busy, though hardly so adventurous as last season, and each of the freezing works has been putting through from 20W to 3000 sheep and lambs a day. This activity will continue for another two or three weeks before slackening and then late lambs and those finished on rape will commence to come in. Unfortunately, the rape crops in certain districts failed owing to the dry weather experienced during the spring and early summer months. Good results, however, have been experienced in some districts and as a result the crop of late lambs is expected to be up to those of previous years. A feature of recent stock sales in the King Country and Waikato was the offering of lambs from Hawke’s Bay, a protracted dry snell in that district having compelled flock owners to sell a considerable portion of their increment. These lambs were rather small in most cases, having bad rather a rigorous time since birth, but no doubt would come away amazingly on fresh green pasture. They will hardly be fattened as lambs, but should prove profitable in most cases when they reach the hogget stage. The weight and quality of the lambs coming forward is said to be very satisfactory. As a result of the wet winter and somewhat unfavourable spring it was anticipated that early lambs would show some deterioration compared with recent seasons. Thia opinion, fortunately, has not been borne out. The early lambs coming forward are said to bo quite up to the standard of previous seasons, both in weight and condition. According to the experts, the sheep are also well conditioned and equal in quality to those of any revious season.