INDIA AS A MARKET FOR FROZKN MEAT.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 9544, 2 December 1893, Page 2

INDIA AS A MARKET FOR FROZKN MEAT.

It will be remembered that about a year ago Messrs Nelson Bros, and Co. de« spntched Professor Archibald lo lodit to see what prospect there was of opening a market for our fruwii meit there It was announced that the report was tinfavorub'e, bub uo delal'a were given. Mr D.tvidsoii, a director of Messrs Nelson Bros., is now 1q AuStrftli>», and when intervlewid by 1 representative of ille fa&tiircdhts' Review he gave some particulars of Professor Arohib.ld's report. He ii'Ccrtained that the number of sheep and goits killed in the three most) important to>viis was as follows : — Tot .1 No. of Slieep First class Killed. Mnttiu. Colombo ... 19,000 12,000 Oilciuta ... 64 046 28,600 Bombay (iueluding goats) .. 45& ?4l 21000 67 600 Ist class. MrD>\i!i-oa continued :—" These shrep weigh from 80lh to 40; b each ; or, takiag two as equal to ouo New Zealand crossbred, the number of first-class she. p killed are equivalent to only 33,800 sheep from that colony. Then the European population i.-i these cities, Upon whom we would hive alnvist entirely to depend as cm« Burners, ia to me fiirpiisingly sum!!, vli. : — Iv Colombo (Including military ] ... 2 3SI In Calcutta All juti 12,000 Iv Bombay „ 11,400 Total 25,700 The obher classes who are meat-eaters, but cannot be depended upon to increase their present expenditure for the purchase of really good mutton, ure:— Burghees, half-caste?, and old Dutch families in Colombo, 10,660; Euradins in Cilcu'.ta, 8000 ; native Christians, Parsees, und Eurasians in Bombay, 32,650 ) or a total of 101,310. Most of the above eat only second or ihird ciasß mutton, and canuot be dep'iided upon to &ive more than 4 annas (6d) per lb, Assuming, therefore, that we would have to depend upon the 25,700 Europeans, and allowing them even Alb of mutton per day per head, they would only consume 77 000 oarci es of 601 b Ken 1 Zealand sheep pur anonm, aud our reporter shows that the equivalent to only 33,800 carcipes of rally firat-claes, mutton is actually o Mistimed in the towus named. It must therefor" be concluded, either that Jib of mutton per head ia an over-estimate of consumption, or that maDy of the Europeans do r,ot, even cow, eat the best class of mutton obtainable ia the country. No doubt a certain amount of meat could be also sold to the ships calling at the three ports, but ii view of the expense ol keeping several stores continuously at work in suoh a hot climate, the game is not fit pre ; ent considered worth the candle, and in the meantime the coniinental markets of Europe offer greater attractions for further development, The general prices for first-class mutton are:—

Iv Colombo... 4Jd to 7Jd per lb Jn Calcutta... 3|l to4^dperlb In B >mbay ... 3| ito 4-;;<i per lb Most of the first-elaFs mutton is gram (a sort of pea) fed, but is ioferior in Colombo, and better in Calcutta, though not so good as New Zeilaud meat. Id opening the Indian markets there would also be much opposition from the Dative tie ileis, as they wonld lose the pickings they now securn from locally-killed sherp.' 1