FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 98, 7 April 1911, Page 11

FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

CANADA AS A MARKET. Ti.e following extract from a private letter from Mr. A. I>. MeCailum. forineriy of Lake Takapui:a. but f«>r rnanv years past a re-it’ient of British Columbia. will he of special interest I o those concerned in rim possibilities of Vicstern Canada and British Columbia as markets for the frozen meat and other produce of N<w Zealand (states the Auckland Herald). Mr. McCallum is keenly alive to the welfare of this Dominion, and keeps in close touch with its affairs by correspondence with his brothers here, and regular perusal of the Auckland papers. “Why don’t you get in and agitate for a direct mail line to Canada from New Zealand, independently of Australia I'’ 1 '’ asks Mr. McCallum in introducing his interesting • remarks upon the subject. “The Commonwealth won’t pay if the boats call at a New Zealand port, as they argue that they would be subsidising a trade competitor. The fact “is the Australians know very well that given an equal chance. New Zealand could cut Australia entirely out in the frozen meat and butter trade with Canada, for the New Zealand article is far super-

for in quality. As things are now, all the New Zealand produce shipped to this end of Canada is sold as ‘Australian’ meat, or jam, or butter, etc. This is because of the ignorance of the mass of Canadians, who think that New Zealand is’part of Australia —just as most New Zealanders don’t know that Vancouver isn’t on Vancouver Island. If New Zealand had her own direct steamers alternating with the Australian boat-, it would give a fortnightly mail service, and also bring home to the Canadian public the fact that the Dominion of New Zealand exis’.ed on the map. and also that it could produce good mutton and fruit and butter. “The Australian mutton sold here (and there is a great deal of it).” continues Mr. McCallum, “is miserable-looking stuff—discoloured and battered —much as if it had been found dead on the beach. This! is owing to the careless methods followed in shipping the live sheep to the slaughtering houses during the hot weather, and also to careless methods followed in shipping the live sheep to the slaughtering houses during hot weather, and also to careless handling after freezing and while transhipping. The New Zealand article has not to be shipped the long distances by rail that the Australian has. and. owing to the better rainfall, the sheep are in better shape and the mutton less tough. It will be many j

years before Britisn Columbia produces beef and mutton for her own needs. The meat we get here mostly comes from Alberta, and although in winter it comes frozen hard as ordinary freight, in summer it is often difficult to get meat that isn’t smelly, it has been killed so long. There soon would be trade enough for both lines of steamers.”