Frozen Meat Market.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 2757, 27 June 1894, Page 2

Frozen Meat Market.

r Messrs Nelson Brothers, London, report as follows on the frozen meat trade for the month ending May 18th :— -Seven steamers bave arrived, bringing an aggregate of 134,485 carcases. Five have already discharged ; the Maori and Kai' konra have oommenoed. In both the Dake of Sctherland and JDnke of Westminster a number of oarcases were more or lees damaged, and these being pnt on the market, have doubtless, to some extent, helped to lower prioea ; but a more powerful factor has been the distribution of stooks amongst many holders, who. anxious to realise, bave accepted needlessly low rates to clear. Really prime sheep are scarce, and enquired for, notwithstanding reoant heavy arrivals. In paroels of Canterbury sheep there is a noticeable absence of the wethers of neat size and handy weights that established the reputation of the brand, and which would always realise a very top price. In recent shipments there has been a lack of finish, even amongst the best, and a preponderance of heavy, rather ooarße, leggy sheep, foreign to the accepted type of Canterbury mutton. Much of thb Canterbury meat per Tainui, Mamari and Baahine was afleoted with "bone taint;" tins, for a time, seemed to be confined to flhipments from that province, but recently paroels trom Wellington and Auckland have also been discovered and destroyed. Occasion, ally some of this "bone tainted" meat escapes notioe, and gets into the country with prejudicial effect on the trade. A movement, has been initiated **£ th % ob J ßot of re « al at>ng the trade in New Zealand meat and so preventing a recurrence of last year's disastrous trading. Desirable as this appears -to be, it has hardly been reoeived with the unanimity whioh alone can secure success.