AUSTRALIAN MEAT FOR AMERICA.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume IV, Issue 239, 23 September 1914, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN MEAT FOR AMERICA.

RE-SHIPPED FROM. LIVERPOOL

Large quantities of Australian meat are re-shipped from Liverpool (England) to the United States. The. following extracts from the annual report of the Medical Officer of Health to the Port Sanitary Authority of Liverpool make interesting reading : — “The importation of frozen and chilled meats still continue to increase. During the past twenty years the population or the United Kingdom has greatly increased (19 per cent), and the production of iiome-grown beef is in a practical.y stationary condition, hence the demand for imported supplies has become greater every year. The year under review has been an important one in regard to traffic in meat s. The most important item has been the transfer of a large amount of frozen and chilled meats from Australia and South America to North America. Some years ago the United states was the largest supplier of meat (in beef and live stock) to Great Britain, and the imports equalled 231,590 tons; last year only about 800 quarters of beef and 10,000 head of cattle arrived, representing 3316 tons. The population of the United States has increased enormously, and there has been a decrease in the production of cattle, eonsequeht.y the United States requires all tins meat, and more, for its own con sumption. The States have now become a free importer of Australian and South American meats. It receives shipment in both Eastern and AVestern ports, and no less than 6621 tons of this have been re-exported from England mostly through Liverpool. Another factor to be considered in connection with this

GENERAL INCREASING DEMAND FOR FOOD is the growth of this trade as regards Continental countries. Alany of these, through agrarian interests, still place many obstacles such as high Customs charges or special methods of importation, on the introduction of these products across their frontiers. Others, like Italy and Switzerland, are gradually appreciating the value of such imports, so that as time goes on, we shall no doubt, see many of the large Continental countries drawing on our sources of supply, and of necessity other areas must be cleared up. The total imports of chilled and frozen beef, mutton and lambs into the Unied Kingdom during the past three years are as follows: —628,233 tons in 1911, 642,537 tons in 1912, and 720,661 tons in 1913, reaching a value in 1913 of £26,662.896. THE IMPORTATION OF AIUTTON AND LAAIB. for 1913 totalled 12,936,163 carcases, or 7.7 per cent in excess of the figure for 1912. The amounts of frozen beef imported in 1913 have dropped to an extent of 3 per cent on the importation for 1912, but chilled meats have since then supplied tiie deficiency. Practically the entire supply to the United Kingdom of chilled meats, amounting to 260,801 tons, has been drawn from the Argentine and has interfered a good deal with the import of meat to Great Britain. The opening up of the United States for the importation of meat and cattle will seriously interfere with Canadian traffic to Britain. In 1913 only 328 tons were received, as compared with 583 tons in 1912. The importance, of the port of Liverpool as an importing and distributing centre may be emphasised by the fact that if we take the three chief railway companies fo’hich carry frozen and chilled meat, ami distribute it to various parts of the country, we find that 93 "per cent of this imported meat is distributed by rail to other parts of the kingdom. CERTIFICATION OF MEAT PRODUCTS. “The increasing demand by the United States cf America for meat foods has caused large quantities to be shipped from Britain, cither as transhipments or as food prepared in Britain. These are either as frozen meats or canned meats. The United States Bureau of Animal Industry, in a notice issued recently concerning meat imports and the accompanying foreign inspection certificates, issued instructions as follow :—

“ Tn the case of shipment through another country, with the meat or meat food product thus transhipped, there shall be presented to the Bureau inspector the original certificate from the country of origin, or a certified copy tiiereor; togetner with a transhipment certificate signed by an authorised ofiicia; of the Government of the foreign country through which the product is transhipped. The transhipment ceitificate shall show the identity of such meat or meat food product, and that th:same has been examined and inspected and not found 'to be unsound, unhealthful, unwholesome, or unfit for human food, and that at the time of exportation from ihe country through which the product was transhipped the same contained no dye. chemical, preservative, or other ingredient not- permitted by the regulations governing the meat inspection of the Uiuted States Department < f Agriculture. ’ ”