GROWING INDUSTRY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4811, 20 February 1936, Page 4

GROWING INDUSTRY

EXPORT OF CHILLED BEEF. I ———— IMPORTANCE TO KING COUNTRY. ■ BETTER QUALITY ANIMALS. Of vital importance to the prosperity of %< King Country is the announcement that the meat ?„greement between New Zealand and Great Britain provides for the export during the first six months of this year of almost double the amount of chilled beef that was sent to the British market from the Dominion in the last half year. Beef that is sent to the Homeland in the chilled state commands a 'premium of at least ,one penny per pound over the frozen article, so that it is obvious that even if the export of frozen beef diminishes .with the increased amount of chilled meat sent abroad a greater financial return will be secured by the farming community. A man connected with the meat export trade pointed out that although the chilled beefexport from New Zealand was only a young industry it had made remarkable progress and already had assumed such an importance that nearly one-third of the total beef quot.a had been already allocated to it. Under arrangement with the British Government New Zealand could ship 320,000 cwt. of all classes of beef, including frozen, chilled and veal. Of this 120,000 cwt. was reserved for chilled beef. It was not until the 1933-34 season that any quantity of chilled beef was sent away from this country. Prior to this a South American price war had kept prices so low as to be unprofitable. Of late years this has been terminated, however, and there had been an inducement for New Zealand to explore this avenue of trade. The venture had been well worth-while.

He agreed that the rise of the trade in chilled beef would mean a diminution in the frozen meat trade,\ This would be a good thing, as it would compel the New Zealand farmers to raise the quality of their stock, as it was only the best beef that could be sent chilled on a journey that occupied on an average 30 to 34 days, compared to three weeks between London and the Argentine. New Zealand, he said, had been landing chilled beef in really excellent condition in London, but he would not like to say that it was yet quite as good as Argentine meat, which at present enjoyed a price margin of about three-farthings a pound. He added that he looked forward to a steady improvement in the quality of New Zealand chilled meat and a corresponding reduction in the difference in the present prices of the Dominion and the Argentine product. It is essential that the growth of the chilled beef trade should not be hampered, and to accomplish this it might perhaps be in New Zealand’s interests to make sacrifices in other classes of beef or veal.

Although the beef export quota fixed for the first six months of this year is considerably below the allocation for the last six months of last year, the general opinion in the trade appears to be that it A/ill work out quite ( satisfactorily. Including a carry-over of 70,000 cwt., the limit for the last six months of 1935 was 548,000 cwt., but only 504,140 cwt. were actually shipped. Deducting the carry-over, this means that 434,140 cwt. was the total current production sent away, and although this figure is 42,140 cwt. above the allocation which has now *been fixed for the first six months of this year, it is not considered likely that there will be any large carry-over from June.