QUALITY OF MEAT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4811, 20 February 1936, Page 3

QUALITY OF MEAT.

DOMINION’S HIGH STANDARD. The need for maintaining the quality of meat exported from New Zealand should be in the forefront of every farmer’s mind,” said Mr. R. S. Forsyth, London manager of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board, in an address at Hastings last week. Mr, Forsyth said that in the past 12i years the total export of meat to Great Britain had been exactly doubled. Last year the aggregate was 250,000 tons. The bulk of the meat which New Zealand sent away went to Great Britain, and over 70 per cent, of New Zealand’s meat exports were mutton and lamb. New Zealand was responsible for 55 per cent, of the total meat imports into Great Britain, and the quality was so good that the*, board was able to secure a premium of Id to per lb every year, which means £7,750,000 to New Zealand producers. High Quality of Lamb. In 1914 the best price for lamb was 6d, Mr. Forsyth said. Last year it was round 7d to 7id. In October Dominion lambs brought exactly the same prices as the best Scottish and English lambs —a wonderful performance as the New Zealand frozen article had to travel 13,000 miles. This showed that New Zealand was producing a good article,- and there was no doubt that quality determined the prices. Last year 2,500,000 New Zealand lambs never touched the port of London, but were shipped to other ports around Great Britain. This diversion could be carried still further. The branding of New Zealand meat sent to England had proved of great benefit, and housewives in Britain were asking for Dominion meat, and would not accept meat otherwise marked. Mr. Forsyth said he was optimistic regarding the chilled beef trade in New Zealand. The low-tempera-ture research station at Cambridge had effected a revolution in this direction. It had resulted in a vast improvement in the price of store cattle in the Dominion, and had done much partly to solve many problems, one of which was competition from the Argentine. New Zealand had a very good reputation for its pork—practically identical with that enjoyed by the producers of lamb. No higher grade porker pigs went on to the English market. The Meat Negotiations. Generally speaking, the standard in New Zealand was being, maintained and in certain districts, notably Auckland and Gisborne, the quality of lamb showed marked improvement., Mr. Forsyth said. The supply of wether mutton was getting less each year, and the reputation of New Zealand mutton probably had not improved in the last 12 years. He did not think the Dominion had the liberal proportion of two-weth-ers as in former years. Export comprised mostly old ewes, and the extremely low price of beef was responsible for the low prices obtained for ewe mutton. Zealand has not fared badly in the meat negotiations, particularly as at one stage there was the possibility of a levy upon Dominion mutton and lamb to subsidise the British beef farmer,” said Mr. Forsyth. “Improved spending power and less unemployment in England have directly influenced the greater volume of New Zealand exports. The spending of so much money with the United States, which raised tariffs against New Zealand products, is unwise, and trade should be diverted to Great Britain.”