ARGENTINA AND FROZEN BEEF.

Otago Witness, Issue 3888, 18 September 1928, Page 12

ARGENTINA AND FROZEN BEEF.

The frozen meat trade in beef particularly to-day evokes a degree of speculative thought which is/of immediate interest to stock owners, even if they are situated thousands of miles distant from their chief markets. Argentina is among our chief competitors in the world’s markets. Although the raising of live stock is still the chief agricultural enterprise, the Argentine is forging ahead rapidly in the production of cereals, while expansion has taken place in the country’s dairy industry. Large estates are conspicuous features of Argentina’s agricultural economy, and most of them are devoted primarily to ranching and fattening live stock. Argentina’s beef industry has, in fact, in recent years, dominated European markets. -The competition from the Argentine has been a thorn in the sides of the Home producers for years, and the latter have viewed with dismay the huge supplies of chilled ilieat literally poured into their own particular markets, and in consequence find greatly depressed values for

their home-fed beef cattle. All cattle owners within the Empire arc interested in this question, even those in this part of the world, who likewise have- found their frozen beef trade in a great measure jeopardised. The dreaded foot-and-mouth disease is having its effect on trade, and, judging from preparations being made by the Markets Department, Victoria, a large expansion of the Australian beef trade with Britain is anticipated. The British embargo—not to permit the entry of meat less than 70 days after killing—is aimed at preventing the introduction of foot-and-mouth disease, which is prevalent in the Argentine. Most of the meat exported from the Argentine is chilled, and cannot be kept for 70 days. It is expected, therefore, that the demand for Australian frozen meat will be greatly*, increased. It is significant that the number of cattle in the important province of Buenos Aires has shown some decrease in the last four years. We know that Argentine dairy products are well established »in the world’s markets, and then again it is believed that the time will come when both the American and Russian markets will be available for Argentine meat.

Whatever the future holds for beefproducing countries, it is a fact that on an average weekly shipments from the Argentine into England are now about half as heavy as a year ago. In this connection the remarks made by Sir George Lawson Johnson, chairman of the Argentine Estates -of Bovril, at the general meeting of the company are arresting. He pointed out that his company are probably the largest owners of cattle in the Argentine Republic; their stocks in that country alone usually range between 250,000 and 300,000, according to the time of year, but they could not be called interested parties in the question of export of beef to England, as their cattle were required for other purposes. They were, however, in a position to learn something of the cost of growing cattle, and he assured those present that the estancieros, who send cattle of chilled beef type to the meat works, have not of recent years, on the average, made a very satisfactory business out of it, though at the moment, their winter time, they get good prices for the few fat cattle available. If the present high quality of chilled beef is insisted on without an increase on the average price paid during the last two years, he thought the amount of such beef available from the Argentine will decrease, as it has not been profitable enough to hold estancieros to the cattle business. In fact, near the railways the land of the pastoralists is rapidly being sold to the small holders of 300 to 500 acres, who grow wheat, maize, or linseed. Many estancieros made heavy losses in 1926-7, and beef is not likely to come to England again at the low prices of 1927. The amount of chilled beef was more likely to decrease than increase, unless a new buying country that will pay a higher price comes into the market. This could only be the United States. During this century, he went on to say, the cattle stocks of the United States have been reduced by nearly 25,000,000 head, a number approaching' the total cattle stocks of the Argentine. To-day the Eastern States of the United States have to be supplied by refrigerated trains from Chicago and the farther west packing houses, and the cost of beef in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, etc., was about the highest in the world, and yet it was not high enough to tempt farmers in the States to produce more. By high tariffs and other means the best River Plate chilled beef has been excluded from the States, and the limited supplies of home-grown beef fetch very high prices. Probably neither party will risk alienating the farmers until after the Presidental elections; but New York and other great eastern cities will not stand excessive prices permanently when the best beef from the Argentine is known to be available at reasonable rates. Sir George added that he would not be suprised to see the ports of that great market open next year. The population of the States is so great that if only 10 per cent, of its beef requirements were imported from the Argentine it would absorb such a large proportion of Argentine’s available supply that there would be no chance of Argentine chilled beef being sent Home in the quantities it has been during the last

two years; in consequence, home farming interests would be called on to supply once again the proportions of English butchers’ requirements that they were accustomed to before imported beef swamped the market a year or two ago.