PORK AND BACON

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 278, 20 August 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

PORK AND BACON

Lower Schedule Possible All meats in Britain met a remarkably good market last season. It would be expecting rather much to hope for another such excellent season. The prospects are for slightly lower prices for the season ahead, but these should be still highly remunerative to pig producers. Indeed, with the benefit of knowledge gained from pig research and club activities, a farmer could well show higher profits this season than last, even although schedules should be lower by a id. to Jd. a lb. Smithfield quotations at mid-August. with 1937 givin in parentheses, are: Pork. 60 to 80’s, 6 5-Bd. a lb. (7d.) : bacon, 121 to IGO’s, 6 7-Bd. a lb. (7 l-Bd.). A decline of 3-Sd. and id. respectively is seen.

Over ihe whole of the past season Smithfield market averages were 7}d. for pork. 60 to 80’s, and 6 7-Bd. for baconers, 121 to 160’s. , That pig-meats should now realise less than a year ago. is in conformity with trade conditions in general at Home. An influence that may counter this is the decline in supply. For the first six months of 1938, pork and bacon were down by 10 per cent, on the year before. Irish supplies- diminished by 55 per cent., and accounted for over one-half the drop in the total. New Zealand supplies were down 12 per cent. Tins degree of decline must have been mostly due to shipping arrangements, for the export killings in New Zealand declined. but Old by 3 per cent. , Export Killings. For tile season ended -July 31, 1938, 421,400 porkers and .228,000 baconers were handled. Compared with last season there were 7000 lower porkers and 11 ~>OO fewer baconers. Converting all pigs to porker units, the total killings represented 763.000 porkers, the total decline 24.000 porker units. A trend for the season was a swing to pork. That the New Zealand dairy industry has as yet far from fully utilised its pigproducing capacity is evident, for export killings represent but one porker for each 2J milking cows. Our pig exports could be readily doubled. At present the local market dominates fat pig values. At some markets porkers have sold at about Bd. a lb. This situation may he expected to continue to the end of the month. Not till mid-September is it likely that a true schedule of values' will be worked out.

There is every prospect that this will be a little below last, year's, but. none the less prices will be good. Pig-keepers should go ahead confidently and enthusiastically, for I know of no sounder market in all the world than that which they supply, and of no commodity with fairer prospects.