CHILLED BEEF SHIPMENT

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 30 September 1933, Page 7

CHILLED BEEF SHIPMENT

DOMINION’S SECOND CARGO A COMPLETE SUCCESS The promising experiment of shipping New. Zealand chilled beef to England resulted on the second occasion in complete success, detailed proof of which is provided in the report just received from the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board’s London manager. This shipment was made by Thos. Borthwick and Sons, Ltd., on the Commonwealth and Dominion liner Port Fairy, which arrived at Southampton on .Sunday, July 16. The cool chambers were opened on the following Tuesday. “The meat,’’ reports the board’s official, “turned out in excellent condition, and there was not a sign of either white mould or black spot. The colour and condition of the meat was really excellent, and all agreed that this was the best-conditioned chilled beef that has ever arrived from either Australia or New Zealand.”

A very wide distribution was arranged for this consignment, Messrs. Borthwick and Sons sending 120 hindquarters to iSmithfield for the following day’s market, and 150 hindquarters for the next day’s •Smithiicld trade. The balance of the consignment of the 520 hinds was sent by road to Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton, .Croydon and Kingston. Thus it was distributed in South Wales, the West of England, part of the Midlands, and on the .South Coast, and special care was taken to place it among as many retailers as possible.

“The meat attracted an enormous amount of attention on Smithfield market,” continues the report, “and the Rt. lion. G. W. Forbes and the Hon. Robert Masters paid a visit to the market in company with the chairman of the board, Mr David Jones, and myself, and inspected the meat.”

THE PRICE AVERAGE. Discussing the prices realised, the report states that it was unfortunate that the weather was so warm at the time of arrival of the shipment, as this affected prejudicially the prices of .all beef. On the day before the New Zealand consignment was opened up, Argentine chilled beef was selling at 5Jd per lb, but toward the end of week, owing to the warm weather, prices gave.way, until Argentine chilled hindquarters were selling at ojd to ojd per lb., the average for the week being 5 3-8 d per lb. “We cannot, of course, in these experimental, shipments get the full Argentine prices, especially seeing that during the same week there was a shipment of South African arriving, which comes over in wonderfully soft condition owing to its short 1 journey of only 18 days. South African 1 beef, however, is not of the same qual- . ity, although its condition from the point of view of chilled beef is better than ours. ’ ’

“Altogether,” concludes the report, “the experiment can be recorded as being a pronounced success, and I am very proud that New Zealand was the first country in the world to bring over a commercial shipment of meat with refrigeration assisted by carbon-dioxide gas. ’ ’ That widespread interest was taken in the New Zealand chilled beef shipment is shown by the fact that the “Financial Times,” which is concerned primarily with investment topics, devoted its leading, article of a column length to the discussion of chilled and frozen meat imports. It pointed to the significance of the new development which made it possible to bring, chilled beef to England from the Antipodes in a condition comparable to that received from the Argentine. This authority added: “That it would be to our advantage to encourage this development is undeniable from every point of view.”