ENGLAND’S MEAT TRADE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 6088, 21 December 1906, Page 3

ENGLAND’S MEAT TRADE

THROUGH GERMAN EYES. Tlio London correspondent of the "Cologne Gazette” writes in the following interesting strain on the meat supply question, with particular redolence to the importation of frozen hoof and mutton from Australia, and Now Zealand; — "Largo classes of the English population have got accustomed to such an extent to imported treat that a cessation of, or nitiking the importation more difficult no matter under what pretence, is no longer to to thought of. In tlio great majority of restaurants, even in the most fashionable ones, only imported meal is being used. I myself, for instance, belong to those who prefer imported moat, quite independently of its town price, to the English meat, because it is not so fat and goes farther, and frequently is more lasting than the English. Tlio increasing popularity. especially of Australian and Now Zealand mutton, can bo best recognised by tlio fact that in comparison with about twenty years ago, the retail sale price has advanced by at least 75 per cent. X remember, for instance, that I used to buy twenty years ago half hind legs of good Australian mm-, ton at 5d per English pound, which to-day, in a respectable shop, costs 9d to 9J-tl, and in cheaper neighbourhoods BJd to £)d per lb of a slightly inferior quality. There are in tlio wholesale trade two or three qualities of Australian meat. The public does not know •about this, because in the retail trade, just the same as in the Home trade, in which there are still more numerous gradations of qualities, no reference is made' to it. In this respect tho retail purchaser is dependent on the honesty of the shopkeepers or to their lack of it. “Tlio following figures will show how greatly tho importation has increased. Whilst in the year 1885 only 373,078 horned cattle, 750,886 sheep, and 16,.>22 pigs,' of a total value of £8,734,7;>t sterling, or close on 180 million marks, were imported, the importation in the year 1005 amounted to 505,139 horned cattle, 183,05-1 sheep, and 150 pigs, of the value of £9,044,859 sterling. This increase would, however, have been insignificant it the importation of slaughtered moat had not increased—in 1885 there wore altogether imported 6,712,359 dz. of meat in every- condition, in 1905 nearly three times as much, or 18,023,420 dz. Of the latter quantity 598,030 dz. were fresh, salted .or otherwise preserved beef, 33,4'11dz. mutton, and 7,528,000 dz. pork, and all these quantities represented a value of £37,651,-180 ns compared with £13,500,000 for 1885. It is well known to you that despite this vast increase in the importation, Homo meat is not cheaper now, but rather dearer than formerly, at least retail. During the last five years it has been considerably dearer, than during the period from 1895 to 1900. In the retail market the increase in price has been at least 20 per cent, more than formerly, or about as much as in all other provisions. I explain the fact that the price of Home meat has in the wholesale market not increased in the same degree and as compared with the prices of 20 years ago is rather lower, through the circumstance that the quality is not nearly so good as formerly. Through the "socalled” rational method of feeding the cattle are much more quickly ready for being slaughtered, the meat is not as palatable, and through the large quantities of superfluous fat the retail seller has more waste than formerly,' which for industrial purposes (principally soap) can only be sold at low prices. “It pleases some people to attribute tho 'downfall of English agriculture’ to tho fact that the number of cattle has not' increased, and in the case of shogp has actually decreased. The number of homed cattle increased however, from 10,868.760 in 1885 to 11,674,010 in 1005, and that of sheep decreased in tho same period from 30,086,200 to 29,076,777, and in the same proportion that of pigs from 3,686,628 to 3,601,669. In this, however, no mention is i made that at present, with an equal number of stock, the production of-meat has obtained an enormous increase through the greatly reduced time which is required in order to make the cattle ready ’ for slaughtering. Whore formerly a hundred head of oattle were required for the production of a given quantity of . meat in a given period of time, seventy-five will suffice to-day. Early readiness for being slaughtered is obtained in addition to tho scientific composition of the means of feeding by the free importation of the feed. The agriculturist gains on both sides, the feeding cirt-v less, and tho capital required for stock is likewise less. _ “As regards tho importation of fresh meat, there came in 1906 in round figures £8.600.000 beef, from foreign countries, of these £4.800.000 from the United States, and £3,750.000 from Argentina: from the British colonies alone, i.e., together with a small quantity from Canada, there were added from Australia and New Zealand £348.000. Frozen mutton was imported to tho extent of £3.300,000 from foreign countries, of which the Argentina was represented by nearly £2.500,000. From Australia and New Zealand the importation amounted to £4,152,761, of which the lion’s share of £3,200,000 goes to New • Zealand. As regards tho capability of production of oversea countries the following figures explain themselves. The Australian colonies possess at present stock of at least 7.6 million horned lion pigs. New Zealand possesses 1.7 million homed cattle, upwards of 10 million sheep, and a quarter of a million pigs.