PIG INDUSTRY

Grey River Argus, 13 May 1938, Page 4

PIG INDUSTRY

GRADING OF BACONERS. During the last eight or nine years there has been a persistent demand oy producers to have pigs graded. L’he reasons behind this demand are a desire on the part of those who produce a high quality product to receive some extra reward for it, plus an equally earnest desire to remove inferior types from the market and so to enhance the price received for pig meats.

Where pigs have been sold on hooks the same price has been paid whether the pigs were excellent or mediocre, and the only pigs penalised were the rejects, unexportables and second quality, amounting to 10 per cent, or 12 per cent, of all pigs slaughtered. The remaining 90 per cent, were classed as “good” and paid for at the same average price. When these pigs were exported, however, the English buyer bought them on the basis of 30 to 50 per cent, first quality, a similar percentage of second quality, and a smaller percentage of third quality. It was usual ' to speak of a 40-40-20 out-turn, meaning tnat there was 40 per cent. No. 1, 40 per cent. No. 2 and 20 per cent, of No, 3 carcases that could be made into bacon of these grades. The weakness of the old method of marketing pigs lies in the fact-that English buyers, not knowing what percentages of ones, two and threes were in a parcel, bid up to a stated percentage and made deductions for percentages below this. Thus, a line of baconers may have been bought in New Zealand at, say 6d per lb. on the basis of 45 per cent. No. 1 primes, with a deduction of Id per lb. for, say, 10 per cent, of the line, should there be only 35 per cent, of No. I’s in it.

A chain of uncertainty existed from the English buyer to the New Zealand exporter, and from the New Zealand exporter to the New Zealand producer. The English buyer has 'o make profits, or else he cannot stay in business. So, too, has the New Zealand exporter, and the price pad to the New Zealand producer had to be reduced by the amount of insurance against this uncertainty considered necessary both by the English cui er and the New Zealand operator. Grading based on ' standards acceptable to the English buyer should remove these two risks and improve the prices paid to the New Zealand producer accordingly.