[From Otago Daily Times ] THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2199, 23 April 1896, Page 3

[From Otago Daily Times ] THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

The Australian pastoralists went into the frozen meat trade with a great flourish of tratnpete. Not content with feeling their way as New Zealand did, they made up their minds that the meat trade was at their feet, and within a couple of years entered into engagements for freezing works capable of turning out more than double the New Zealand supply. Objections were taken on the ground that crossbred sheep throve only in limited parts o£ the Continent and that merino mutton was not popular in Britain, that the Bupply would be constantly checked by droughts, and that railage over long distances to the seaboard in a hot climate presented great difficulties. 38at the overwhelming reply was that an outlet must be found for the vast surplus stock of Australia, and that the cost of keeping sheep being much less than in New Zealand the Continental trade would make way, even if the prior claim of these islands had to be Bet aside. At the time we remember pointing out that New Zealand farmers had little to fear from Australian competition in the meat trade, superiority of meat being .a more important factor in the trade than cheapness of production. So that though it was idle to argue that Australia could not succeed in finding or making a market for its meat, the New Zealand trade would go on and prosper, whether Australia succeeded or not. These prognostications are already coming true. There have been checks in the New Zealand trade,. and some of the companies have made heavy losses, but it still possesses vitality and shows &v aggregate output which keeps the colony strongly in the forefront, whereas half the Australian factories fire shut down. .Their output for the last 12 months has been a little less than for the previous year. The operations for those 12 months are openly declared to have left "a bare margin of profit," and the stocks now in hand can \only be realised at a loss. With & considerably smaller total export than that for New Zealand, with not half their freezing power complete j— in short, before they got under way .a their extensile preparations for meat;

export — the Australian meat companies find the market blocked; their trade actually unprofitable. It has become indeed an open question whether all the capital that has been embarked in the construction of freezing works has not been wasted and whether the smallest" loss in the end would not be incurred by immediately abandoning the whole business, which has never yet earned anything like a reasonable return. But, , of course, such a waste of money is not to be lightly thought of. Hence the representatives of all the Australian freezing companies have been holding a conference at Sydney to consider their common situation and endeavour to find a way out of it. The deliberations of the conference were held in secret, but the general course that they took is pretty well known. Having agreed that the trade could not continue on the basis of recent prices, it was held that the best hope of advancing these lay in combined action for watching the London middlemen and pushing the trade in Great Britain, as well as for keeping up the standard of Australian meat on this side. What are the actual steps to be taken in these directions is not yet known further than that definite proposals were arrived at by resolution, and a committee, of which an old Dunedinite (Mr R. E. N. Twopjsny) is' the secretary, has beenappointed to draw up a scheme upon the basis of these proposals for consideration by the boards of all the freezing companies in Australia, who are to send plenipotentiaries to a second conference to be held in Sydney towards the end of May to amend and confirm the scheme.

Of course the value of this movement will depend upon the nature of the scheme adopted and the power of the Australian freezing companies to enforce it. But New Zealand companies might do worse than follow the example of combining to promote their common interests. There can be no doubt that the London middleman, though possibly not so bad as he is painted, has enough to do in looking after his own interests without devoting himself to keeping a special guard upon those of the colonial producer. In some cases the London agent's commission is paid per lb instead of by the price of the meat, so that he has not even any real interest in maintaining the price. And so long as he can make good profits why should he trouble himself to open up new markets for the meat or in any way to promote the interests of the producer ? From a large point of view his interests should be identical, but .the fact is that if his immediate selfish interests are sufficiently served he does not subordinate them to the larger ultimate interests of the trade, which he shares with the producer. Practically all he looks to is his commission and such other charges as accrue to him. In so far as the Australian freezing companies can combine to protect and promote their interests they should have the hearty co-operation of New Zealand farmers. They may be' itt a Jietter position than their friends in. Australia, • and are not driven to combination by the same dire necessity, but that New Zealand shippers suffer equally from the selfishness and inattention of the middleman has been demonstrated time after time. It may be that the movement originated in Australia will find a footing also in this colony, and result in a combined effort of all concerned in the Australasian nueat export trade to

secure the placing* of their product upon the market under the most favourable conditions. In any case it will be interesting and profitable to New Zealand farmers to watch the steps that the Australians propose to take, and we may heartily wish the latter success" in their endeavours, without any fear that that success can injure the position of New Zealand meat.

While on the subject we again point out to New Zealand shippers the imperative necessity of keeping up the quality of our mutton, and it will not be "without interest if we quote the remarks made in this connection by the Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company (Limited), lv their market report of 27th December they say : — "Last year we commented on the deterioration in New Zealand mutton that had taken - place ; this year's importations emphasise our remarks. Early in the year, especially, much of the mutton ssnt Home was poor and plain, not fully matured and ripe ; later shipments have not shown much improvement, and throughout the year the neat, compact, meaty sheep associated with the name of Canterbury have bsen very scarce, often unobtainable, and the leggy, coarse sheep sent Home, deep of fat and light of meat, have ill-supplied their place." It is unfortunate that remonstrances of this kind should continue to be necessary, and we may express the hope that ere this they have been taken to heart, and that they do not apply with the same force to present shipments. To show what the same company has to say of shipments from Australia, we may quote the following extract from their report dated 24th January last : — " Sheep of very low class continue to arrive, so poor and poverty-stricken that a number have been condemned by the authorities : many others, not much better, sell for very little, to the great detriment of the trade. There is considerable dissatisfaction among c.i.f. purchasers, leading to repudiation in some cases and substantial allowances in others, owing to faulty description, want of condition, and light weights."