LONDON PRODUCE NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVII, Issue 2691, 14 December 1895, Page 2 (Supplement)

LONDON PRODUCE NOTES.

From Our Special Correspondent.

London, November 1,

The event of the week in connection with produce has been the arrival of the Gothic with the second experimental consignment of beef carried oversea at a' chilling temperature. The, 3000 hindquarters shipped at Wellington came to London in perfect condition, having been subjected throughout the voyage to a temperature of notjqss than 29dog, and not more than SOdog. I examined a number of the quarters at thmthuold this morning, and can honestly say that so far as condition, there was "no observable difference between . the New Zealand quarters and the American, which Messrs Borlhwick had kindly placed in juxtaposition. And'so far as quality was concerned the Antipodean meat, though not so fat as one would havoliked 1.0 see it, was very good on the whole. The average could; not be called prime, and.a tow quarters seemed to have; come from beasts on the waste, but quarter for quarter it was quite an good as the Yankee meat on view iu the market. -The Butchery indeed was cleaner, and this gave the New Zealand stuff a more inviting appearance. It is riot too much to say that the shipment was a. great success. Unfortunately. tho'Gcthio'arrived in time to meet a very depressed market, and today her beef, good as It is, commands no better price than 3s per stone ; sales indeed have been principally effected at 2d below that figure. Not only are prices low, but buyers are very shy, and during the half hour I was in the market not a single quarter of the New Zealand beef was sold. The previous Gothic shipment you will remember, met a stiff market,-and her beef fetched from old to fid per pound; Had a similar state of affairs ruled to day the beef on hand would have been worth fid and fiid. It is now quite clear that chilled beef can be brought-from New Zealand without undue risk', at a temperature equivalent to that adopted by the Americans in their export. If Queensland can follow suit—and we '.shall have a chance of judging her prospects when the Rakaia comes to port next week, the great battle of beef will have commenced in earnest. The Americans, of course, will not give way all at once, and the competition will inevitably bring about a long spell of very low rates, especially with -Argentina chipping in, as will undoubtedly be the case. The general opinion here, I think, is that Queensland and Argentina will have the. issue between them, when America is driven out of the market. Few people anticipate the revival of the Now Zealand beef export under the new conditions, hut, as I have skid before, in

calculating the strength of Argentina’s future competition in all food supplies to Great Britain, allowances must bo made for a steady rise ia land values there, the increase of taxation which will inevitably take place when the country is opsned up qnder a stable Government, and the equally inevitable rise in the cost of labour as Western ideas become more and more prevalent in the country. It seems to me indeed that in process of time the Cost of Jirodaction of beef, mutton,- butter, cheese, etc., in Australasia arid tile Republic must approximate. And for the reason',- and because t know New Zealand can gfotr fteit Of the very finest quality, I do not despair Ol seeing the Colony take a leading part in the chilled beef trade, nor do 1 anticipate Argentina running her out of the mutton, butter and cheese trades as some globe trotters aver the Republic will.

LIVE STOCK SHIPMENTS. i I offer my sincere sympathy to the Pastoral Finance Association ami the Australian Horse Export Association upon the result or, their initial shipment of hhrses by the Gulf of Lyons. Of the 102 horses shipped at Sydney only 57 were landed alive and kicking, and llio I insurances effected were such that the - disaster of the voyage must have landed the experimenters in a heavy pecuniary loss. The Gulf of Lyons had a fair passage to the Promontory, but from thence to Albany encountered heavy gales. Terrific seas broke over the vessel continuously, and on mieoocasion theforoe of the water bent the hawser plates in the stern. The captain and his officers did everything in their power to protect the live stock on board, and Mr Freeland, the chief officer, had several of his ribs broken whilst securing a breakwater to save the horses from drowning. In spite of all, thirty-six of the animals wore lost during the gale, and nine died afterwards from exhaustion and exposure. But for the unremitting attentions of Mr Galvain and his assistants to the survivors many more animals would have undoubtedly died. From Albany to Gravesend the passage was uneventful, and tho vessel arrived at the latter place on Sunday last. Upon arrival at Tilbury Dock the horses were rapidly discharged. There wero some exciting scenes during this process, and some rough riding about the docks by Mr Galvain in Chase of runaways ensued, to tho entire satisfaction of those present. Eventually the animals were got quietly together without accidents, and taken off to a convenient farm where they will recruit pending their appearance in the saleyard. The horses were stalled on board fora and aft, on tho main deck. The fixtures and fittings were of the usual rough-and-ready style adopted by AustuUan -exporters of live stock, and which, let me say with all due respect to those enterprising people, are the outcome of an asinine prejudice against being taught. “ We will learn only by our own experience," seems to be the motto of Australian live stock exporters, and especially those who consider Sydney tho hub of the universe. Well, they are buying their experience pretty dearly, so it is unkind to say more. The fodder placed on board was ample for the voyage, and the medicine chest seems to have been well stocked, and as you may gather, it was wanted badly after the gale. The horses are to ho disposed of by auction in the course of a few weeks. Mr Galvain has notified that intending purchasers can try the hunters over open country if they wish to do so. He is wollknown amongst the horse-buying community here .‘and ■ will doubtless manage to get good-prices for the best of his charges. Canadian carriage horses have recently been sold at from 56 to 6D guineas a pair, and hacks at 30 to 40 guineas. Within the past three weeks about 650 Canadians, including yacners and trotting horses, have been disposed of under the hammer. The sales are now, however, drawing to a close and the Australian horses if held for a week or two will therefore stand a bettor chance.

DAIRY PRODUCE. The butter market at the present moment is clear of Australian stuff, the Parramatta shipment having been readily absorbed at from 116 s to 130 a. By this boat a quantity of South Australian came to hand, which was “fishy " in flavour, and a few boxes of this are still on hand. Prices ate still keeping up to the abnormal level of the past few weeks, but consignees of Australian butters do not'seem particularly enamoured of the prospects for the future. They say the high retail rates are driving consumers on to mixtures, and when supplies become moderately full they fear they will have to persuade them back to the pure article by,means of a big, reduction,: Experts calculate that the reduction in the' consumption of butter cinoe the low prices came to an end approximates 40 per cent. Certainly at the present time, the margerine makers aro doing an enormous trade, and are making up for the loss inflicted on them by the terribly low values of good butter reigning during the latter part of last year and the first eight months of the present. Many people, however, consider that the Australasian output will be cut down this season to an extent equalling the falling off in consumption ! but, even so, it is wise to remember that the Argentine will probably send over 1000 tons during fho next six mouths, and that the Irish, Danish and Swedish output will be in excess of what it was last winter. I have seen some of the Argentine butler this week, and must say (hat the quality and condition of the stuff speaks well for the future of the trade. It has been sold at 116 s to 120 s per cwt, and is in all respects equal to the best of the second class ;butter received from Australasia.

Personally, I am of opinion that the high prices for butter in force now cannot be long maintained, and that when the drop begins it will be long and swift.: Even at the present moment there are signs of a break—a weakness and a flatness not easily explainable in the face of empty floors and tho light consignments from Australia which will arrive during tho next few weeks.