THE BEEF INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19916, 9 April 1928, Page 7

THE BEEF INDUSTRY.

PROSPECTS IN DOMINION;. IMMUNITY mOM DISEASE. . ARGENTINE AND BRITAIN. The immunity which New Zealand enjoys from the scourge of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle is a matter for which farmers may well be thankful when it is realised how . serious are the consequences in countries where the disease is established. In Britain, where it has assumed serious proportions during the last few years,/the suppression of outbreaks has involved the destruction of thousands of cat£le, while farming activities in the districts affected .are seriously hampered by the stringency of the precautionary measures against its spread. "Stand still" orders are immediately issued and no cattle can be taken to market or from one farm to another. ( Apart, from the major losses of the stock destroyed, the hampering effect upon the industiy is very considerable. An aspect of primary importance to New Zealand, revealing a positive asset in Now Zealand's freedom from foot-and-mouth disease, tor which the vigilance of the Department of Agriculture must bo given due credit, was raised by the recent statement of Sir William H&ldane in a letter to tho Times that the disease is being continually introduced into Britain in the carcases of Chilled beef' imported from tho Argentine. No Embargo Likely. . Sir William recommended a very serious review of the sources of Britain's beef, supplies and drew attention to the desirability of drawing supplies from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, where the utmost care' has been taken,' regardless of cost, to exclude' the disease, which is now sweeping South America.' However, any hope of immediate benefit to the Dominions mentioned is removed by an announcement which Lord Bledisloe, Parliamentary Secretary to the British Ministry of Agriculture, made while on a recent' visit to the Argentine, that no embargo was contemplated." Lord Bledisloe asked Argentine beef producers to submit to reasonable regulations for the exclusion of infected boasts from the chilling works, and appealed to them, as a matter of honour, to refrain from sending such beasts to market for conversion into chilled beef. Before the war New Zealand's beef export trade was very substantial, one Auckland firm alone consigning eome 50,000 carcases to Britain annually. To-day, in spite of prices that compare favourably with those of former times, the raising of beef for export has fallen to a low level, and the numbers of cattle- df beef-produc-ing type have diminished accordingly. There* remains, however, the nucleus for building up again a flourishing industry. Vigilance of Department. The means adopted by the Department of Agriculture to guard against the introduction of : foot-and-mouth disease into New Zealand had sometimes -been regarded as unduly rigorous, but the recognition in Britain of the Dominion's immunity and the possibility of its practical appreciation at Home was. a thorough justification-of ,tho department's policy, said Mr. W-' T. Collins, senior officer of the stock division, of the department in Auckland. No relaxation of the -vigilance Was likely, and the fact that, no stock was imported from Europe, with the' exception of ■ the, Channel Islands, and that' only after extensive quarantining, should be sufficient; protection'" against the introduction of the disease. In spite of the research-work that had been carried out at Home little was as yet known of the disease, but it was generally considered that the "exclusion of susceptible stock and the instant destruc-. tion of all foddei 1 arriving from overseas would continue to prove effective. Tha organisms were supposed to have, a very short life away from the known carriers, and the isolation of New Zealand was an added factor which would tend to make the appearance of the disease in the Dominion unlikely. AMERICAN MOTOR-CARS. REDUCTION IN FREIGHT RATES. t i : ■I ,v . A. and N.Z. NEW YORK, April 6. The Roosevelt Steamship- Line, which operates the American-Australian Line, Punch? Edye and Company, whibh operates the Cunard service, and the Norton j Illey Company, which operates the KUsiman Lines, announce a reduction.Of 4s 2d. a ton on motor-cars shipped' from New York to Australia! It is indicated that a further reduction .will be made if compettion with the Canadian mercantile marine demands it. The situation has arisen from the Australian preferential tariff, and the .point of origin of motor-cars. Many thousands of American motor-cars, formely shipped by the lines named, have of late been shipped by Canadian lines. It is expected that. the adjustment in the freight rates will result, in a resumption of the flow of this traffic through New York. JAPANESE TRADE MISSION. PUSHING THE SALE OF GOODS. A Japanese commercial mission was recently despatched on a World tour for the purpose, of pushing, the sale of Japanese goods abroad. The expedition, which is supported by the Ministry of Commerce, consists of five groups, each consisting of a president and several commercial travellers. They will carry samples of the following goods:—Cotton and silk cloths, knitted goods, porcelain, pottery, lacquered ware, enamelled ware, provisions, toys, dry goods, celluloid " goods, and glassware. Group 1 is to visit the South Seas region and China; group 2 India and East Africa: group 3 Egypt and the Balkansgroup 4 Central America; and group 5 South America. Apparently Australia and New Zealand are not in the itinerary. An -idea of the general purpose of the mission can be gathered from a description of' group 2. This consists of six commercial travellers, one of whom, the president, is a member of the Nagova Chamber of Commerce. The group intends to introduce the representative products of Japan to as large an area as possible, and at- the same time to survey industrial conditions abroad in order to add to their professional knoxvledge. , • ' ■ ' ■ ■ - ; •