LONDON MEAT MARKET

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6803, 5 January 1929, Page 12

LONDON MEAT MARKET

Encouraging Prospects An assured market for meat at profitable prices for some years is the welcome New Year message to New. Zealand from Mr Eric H. Fitter, a director of tho ■well-known Smithfield firm of that name, who is at present in Auckland. There is unusual interest in Mr Fitter’s visit by reason of the fact that his family, which has been in the Smithfield business for three-quarters of a century, handled part of the first cargo of meat sent from New Zealand to London. It was carried by the Albion line clipper Dunedin, in 1882, the total comprising 598 carcases of la«!b and 4311 carcases of mutton and the prices were 6Jd and 6Ad a pound. It was no exaggeration to say that refrigeration has been the main-spring of the Dominion’s development. No longer wero sheep raised for wool and pelts, and no longer was the scope of dairying limited to tho local ma-rket. Refrigeration changed tho economic standards of the country. Meat works sprang up to cater for the new market and dairy factories opened up new prospects. At first, in dairying, separation of cream at “creameries” placed restrictions upon the scope of the industry, but home separation arrived, and to-day cream for the butter we export is collected over very wide areas, sometimes commencing its journoy wy pack horse or by launch. An Ally in Development. “There is nothing to cause fear for slumps,” said Mr Fitter. “Indeed, New Zealand has every reason for tho greatest confidence because the Argentine supply of meat is not so great as it was, one reason being the existence there of foot and mouth disease and another, the employment of much land, formerly grazed, in the production of cereals. Further, there is likely to be a diminishing supply for exportation to England through the probability of North America having to buy in the Argentine market. Thirty years ago North America was England’s main .source of supply.. . Now the xjm ted States cannot satisfy her own market and is buying from Canada, and although she has an embargo on Argentine meat, owing to tho existence of foot and mouth disease, it is only a matter of time before she will be compelled to take beef from that country and tho consequence will be that a ‘clean’ country, such,as New Zealand, will find a strong demand for meat.” Auckland’s Lamb Improves. For Auckland Mr Fitter has the pleasing information that lamb from that province has inproved very greatJy in quality.during the last tw years, fins ho attributes to more careful breeding and better feeding through the top-dressing of pastures. His firm often judges at Smithfield shows and is in a position to know the full nature of the improvement and he considers that the time will como when small farmers will pool their produce and consign it under an Auckland brand to gain the full reward for the skill that is being developed in breeding. lor beef he thinks the outlook distmctly good. He realises that the bulk of the beef exported is more in the nature of a side-lino, seeing that the cattle usually have their first use in maintaining pasture but the time has arrived, in his opinion, when farmers need no longer consider beef chiefly as an implement. It should pay its wav well as preserve pasture. Two things arc necessary, howS\h Sa n f lr u FittCr ‘ " 0n « is thlt beef should bo better dressed for shipment, and the second is that it should bo more carefuHy bandied in transport before killing. New'Zealand, lam sorry to say i s the only country that 1 market brUl w d ° U the Smithfield market. From what I have seen I consider that most of tho bruising is transit. Trucks are roughly shunted and serious loss is otten caused thereby. if every Bed “ an ’. fTOm slll mters roalised the importance of landing beef Wf h ° Ut b . mises th ° market would be mov/'th Att ° t lCr thin « that would bp. be the te deh ai ' k - 0t Value ° f beef w °uld be the dehorning oi cattle. Horn marks as well as bruises discourage the

“I am not in a position to say whethwhatever i s exported should bo in the and as°? b ° c ° nditiou for marketing and, as far as beef is concerned, there room for great improvement.”