COLONIAL MEAT AND ARMY CONTRACTS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue 9309, 6 March 1907, Page 4

COLONIAL MEAT AND ARMY CONTRACTS.

A suggestion contained, in a recent cable message that preference was to be given to the colonies in respect to contracts was « dispelled, a few days Jater by Mr Baldane. I T.he Secretory for War, in reply to a ques- ; tion in the House, said that the colonies were invited to tender to meet every demand, but owing to the drought and shortness of stocks colonial firms weie not always able to quote for delivery, and were beaifcen in many cases by the prices of competitors. From enquiries made by a Wellington Post reporter in reliable quarters, it would appear that New Zealand is not liikely to participate in any atrmy contracts for the supply of tinned meate for the troops. For the year 1903 the export of ,p.r>yae!rved meats irom New Zealand was- valued at £96,217, for 1904 £64,558, and for 1905 £74,451. The actual figures for 1906 are not yet available, but there is reason fov believing thait the value oi the export would be mucn lower tiiarr in 1905, owing to the exposures made in Chicago and the consequent effect on the >ttkuned meat trade almost throughout the world. "I don't think," said one gentleman who as in a good position to Judge, ' "that the whole colony wouldi export much, more tihan 3,000,0001b of tinned meat per year." He was speaking approximately and without any statistical guide, and a reference to (the Yeatr Book shows that his estimate was a very accurate one. The total quantity exported in 1905 was 3,196,3681b. "The development of the /tinned meat trade," he went j on to say, "could only be carried- out at the expense of the frozen meat tirade. The tinned meat exported, comparatively speaking, is of -little value if you consider the other great braniohes of the meat export industry. I should say that if better values weare Jiot obtainable in ithe fuifcwe for tinned] meat than has been the cose in the past, ifcihere would be no inducement to put up a .greater quantity than the companies carrying on the business have put up hitherto." Freezing apparently is of prinuary importance, amd canning only a secondary consideration. The same authority, referring to the" approaching visit to this country of a .repTesemtativ« of the War Office, said he did. not think the New Zealand companies wouOd make a bid for contracts that were offering. In the first place, the available supplies of tinned meate were too small to come up 'to in© minimum requirements of the War Office. At least that was the case when tenders were previously invited.