THE PLATE FROZEN-MEAT COMPETITION.

Otago Witness, Issue 1725, 13 December 1884, Page 13

THE PLATE FROZEN-MEAT COMPETITION.

The following interesting letter on the future of tho frozen-meat trade of the River Plate appeared in Tuesday's Daily Times :—: — Sib, — The River Plato is making such a bold bid for its share of the frozen- meat trade in the Home market that you will perhaps allow me to place some points of the position before your readere. The greater part of the sheep-farming country of the Plate forms one vast Cantr-r-bury plain, with a soil of much superioi average quality. The frontier zone is occupied by vast cattle esiancias. The rough and wiry nature of the grasses in new country necessitates its being heavily stocked in the firßt place by cattle and mares, the effect being that these grasses are gradually killed off, and their place taken by a spontaneous growth of excellent and tender herbage, forming an admirable pasture for sheep. When brought into this condition, two sheep to the acre (on the very best Jand three, and even four sheep per acre) the year round ia considered fair stocking capacity — this, of course, without turnips or other winter aids. The value of these sheep lands ranges between £3 per acre for those near a railway and tho ports, and 10a por acre for outside lands on ' the borders of tho cattle zone. This last, as the refining process goes on, is being constantly moved farther out to leave room for sheep in place of cattle and mares. The fee simple value of these outside runs, according to the stage they have reached in the refining process, dealing of soil, &c, &c. is from 103 down to as low as Is 6d per acre. Those renting sheep or cattle runs pay a rental of from 4 to 6 per cent, upon the above capital values. With a soil incomparably superior, the climate in general of tho sheep-farming regions of the Plate, if we 'except a leaser liability in the latter to drought, is almoafc identical with that of Victoria and New South Wales. Going south from Buenos Ayres the climate gradually becomes cooler, till on the newly-settled lands of Babia Blanca and the Colorado the yearly mean temperature is little, if anything, above that of Canterbury or Nelson. The most competent authorities estimate that there are now about 100.000,000 of sheep in the Plate. Of those it would, I think, be an outside e&fa'mate to pufc down 2 per cent., or, say, 2,000 000 of longwools and crossbreds, leaving 95,000,000 of merinoß of Spanish, Saxon, Rambouillet, and other varieties. These lr.tter, the fat wethers of which average rathor less in weight than the Australian merino, produce, I think, quite as good a quality of mpat. The London Timeß of October 16 notes that a carfro of River Plate mutton, ex Meath, j realised 4£d to s£d per lb, but this latter price is so good that the shipment in all likelihood comprised sound crossbreds, and the true average that ha<3 probably been obtained for Plato merino mutton is somewhere between 4d and 5d per lb. ' Upon the first shipments to London about a year ago by the Drabble Company, the Buenos Ayres Standard estimated that, allowing l^d per lb (f.o.b.)and lsd for freight, merino mutton could be put on the London wharves at 3d per lb. With all deference to the Standard (formerly edited by and still the part property of the eminent statistician Mr Mulhall), I am inclined to consider this estimate as a little too low ; besides which the market for fat stock in the Plate ports has since hardened a trifle. By my last mail advices I learn that fat wethers, weighing about 521b and suitable for city consumption, were fetching in the Buenos Ayres stockyards about 8s for top qualities ; ewes and inferior wethers, of 371b to 401b, as low as 63 ; so that if we take 7s for a 451b sheep it will be about the average. Now these sheep, delivered . direct to the refrigerating works up tho river, will be at least Is less, which brings the price down to 6a. A further moderate deduction of 1b 6d for inside fat and skin thus leaves an average merino wether 451b butcher's weight, delivered at tho ref rigsrating works, at 43 6d— or about 1 l-sth of a penny per lb. To this, of course, must be added killing charge, &c, cost of freezing — highpriced coal making this a trifle dearer than with us. The steamer lies in deep water under the bluff upon which the works are built ; so cost of shipment is reduced to a minimum. Assuming that the freight, l?jd, has not beea reduced, it is, I think, a near apjuoximation to estimate that Plate rajasmo mutton of fair quality, on board stea.nws in the London docks, can be deUvc^ad fc.f.i.) at about 3£d per lb. It is, however, in the higher classes of frozen muttoa that Plate competition interests us in 1 New Zealand. Here and there on the princely estates of the Shennans, the Fairs, the Bella, and other English ehpepfarmers, stud flpokg of Border and Midland Leicesters, Ljijaeolns, and other heavy breeds are kept, more, however, for putting an ocoaaio^aj 45rain of fattening capacity and weight on the merinos for boilingdown purposes than for forming any extensive breeding floclse of crossbreds. As for a native farmer, he in general hates the sight o^ a long- . wool, the greater care and batter feed they 1 requiro to get them through tho wintor, and • the deterioration of th.9 woo) by the summer ■ heat, all combining to fcp.eg their numbers, up to the present, almost stationary. ' The development of the frozen-meat trade ! is fast obanging this, and increased importations from Home show that many farmers are laying themsolves put to produce a good crossbred carcass. Wo too often assume that because turnips cannot bo grown in the Plata therefore crossbred hoggets cannot be profitably carried through .their first winter. But ijhq Plate possesses two valuable substitutes for our turnip ccop. Lucerne (alfalfa), whi^h I havo known give as much as five cuttings in the year, with a weight of 10, or 12 tons of hay to the acre, is extensively grown as an article of export to Brazjl. It can be bought out of the

stack often as low as 22a per ton, and the introduction of the eilq system will make this forage even yet lower in cost. Maize, of whioh there is a large export to Europe, is very cheaply produced. In the 10ft deep rich, black loams of the Chivilcoy district the glut ia good soasous has bean occasionally so great that, boinp cheaper to use than coal or wood* of which tha diafcrict is entirely bare, the grain in tho cob has been burnt for engine and othet filing purposes; whilst 7d per bushel up country is a very common price. Now although at tbo lowest maize and lucarne cannot be produced so cheaply as turnips, the example o£ fcho farmers of tho "Western Stateß and California, who u«a them largely for wintering all kinds of stock, wiil be followed in the Plate, particularly as a little of this feed puts that " staying " quality into the meat which is so m'jfh appreciated by ths economical consumes at Home. From an intimate personal knowledge of tha Plato and the latest data, the conclusions to ba drawn aro, I think, as follow .— 1. That in merino and other low grades of mutton it is only a matter of time for tha Plate to simply "smother" our Australian neighbours!, and drive them out of the English market by the advantages the former possess of a slightly lower cost of production, and a n:uch lower freight to England. 2. That in crossbred meat of fair averse quality we may expect within a year or two'k very severe competition indeed from the Plate crossbreda, wintered and topped up by the help of cheap maize and lucerne. 3. That with our unrivalled climate, juicy pastures and root crops, provided the increased care and attention noticeable in breeding, fattening, and shipment be continued, we need not fear competitors in high-class mutton from any quarter, and that with the command of top prices, and the pick of the consumers in the British market, our little Island, prim/us inter pares, will long hold its pride of place as the exporter of the finest frozen meat in fcha world.— l am, &c, J. L. Leesmith, December 8.