FROZEN PRODUCE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIII, Issue 284, 16 November 1923, Page 7

FROZEN PRODUCE.

MARKETING IN LONDON. POINTS FOR NEW ZEALAND SHIPPERS. MR. FRASER’S IMPRESSIONS. Mr. J. Fraser, general manager of the New Zealand Moat Producers’ Board, who has been absent from New Zealand for about six months visiting South America and Groat Britain on business of the Board, had some interesting comments to offer in an interview on the condition of the frozen produce market at Home, FOREIGN COMPETITION. ”1 noted,” he said, “that foreign countries such as Denmark, France, Finland, Switzerland, etc., who in prewar days ‘shipped large quantities of dairy produce to England, are now getting* back to pre-war figures. Argentina has also largely increased her dairy exports, but what struck me as being extraordinary was that despite the Tact of our Dominion being the greatest exporter of dairy produce to Great Britain, yet it is hard to pur-., chase New Zealand butter in London. “As well as dairy produce.it was also : surprising to see the amount of meat now entering Great Britain from foreign countries—even distant Manchuria is represented. Her quota is in frozen mutton of a very peculiar type, each carcase having a large lump of fat on the rump. CHILLED BEEF. “On the Smithfield market South American chilled beef is to be seen everywhere, no doubt it looks remarkably well with its wonderful colour combined with careful dressing and grading. This apparently inexhaustible supply of South .American chilled beef continually arriving on the Smithfield market, which must be sold practically on arrival irrespective of what price it realises, has a very depressing effect on our frozen beef. The present average differences in values between chilled and frozen beef are about: Chilled «3 7-8 d fores, 5Vd hinds; frozen 3|'d fores, 41 d hinds. “Our beef raising industry cannot carry on at these figures. The farmer must get at least 27s 6d per hundred pounds for his bullocks. To keep up our export totals for mutton and lamb we must raise cattle, and as we cannot at present eat all the beef we produce, then to get a remunerative return wc must concentrate on finding means of placing meat on the Smithfield market in a condition equal to our South Ame. rican conqietitors. Although South Amejioan l.eef may be more finely bred' than ours, yet in flavour our best quality beef is as good, if not better, and if wc could place it on the Smithfield market in a chilled condition we ; should command the best prices that I are at present being given for chilled. I “It may not be generally known that an experimental shipment , of chilled beef was made frpm Hawke’s Bay many years ago by Messrs Nelson Bros., Tomoana, This shipment, although not a 11 onounced success, still showed the >< s abilities In this direction. Whilst in London I dismissed the matter fully with one of the largest importers of our meat, and also with one of the leading experts in refrigeration, and another trial shipment will shortly be made from our Dominion. Chilled beef can only be held for a I limited period and must be shipped as soon as possible after being killed, and placed, on the market as quickly as ‘ possible. “For many years experiments have been made in defrosting but as yet nothing in this direction has been found entirely satisfactory to the trade. If we can place our beef on Smithfield in a chilled condition, it is what the market wants.