NEW ZEALAND MEAT.

Patea Mail, Volume XLIII, 3 November 1919, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND MEAT.

SIR THOMAS MACKENZIE SPEAKS Speaking at the annual dinner of the Cold Storage Association in London recently, Sir Thomas Mackenzie said : It is fitting that I should say a word in connection with refrigeration, because it has changed the state of the Dominion that I represent from one of depression to one of prosperity ; indeed it is perhaps for its size the most prosperous of all His Majesty's Overseas Possessions. In 1882 New Zealand had some 13,000,000 sheep and that year exported 9,000 carcases. Her flocks now number 2(5,500,000. Of the 235,000,000 carcases of mutton and lamb imported into Groat Britain between the inception of the trade and the end of last year New Zealand supplied about one half, and she lias, in addition, 7,250,000 carcases in store. Of butter and cheese the Dominion exported in ISSS 14,000 lons, and we now send to this country about £(5,000,000 worth. The refrigerated space in New Zealand has grown with the demands. At the commencement of the war there was accommodation for only about two and a. half 'million 00 lb carcases, but there is now a storage capacity for about 7,400,000 carcases. As showing the extent to which the Dominion has helped the Mother Country with produce during the war, I may say that to the end of February last the total payments made by the Imperial Government to New Zealand were : for meat, £31,500,000 ; [for cheese, £12,000,000; for butter. £5,000,000 ; and for wool, £34,500,000. Our Meat Supplies.

A word regarding the present position of our meat supplies and future prospects may not lie out of place. We frequently hear that the Ovcrsc.as Possessions and other countries supply to the Home Country only about onequarter of the meat she consumes. The actual import figures are 4 p.c. of meat (of sheep 50 p.c.) and 45 p.c. of pigs., and of that amount New Zealand and Australia supply about 75 p.c. The Argentine, one of our chief competitors is receding in her mutton and lamb supplies, but with the development go!7ig on in this country the Empire is capable of supplying all the meat the Home Country requires ; and we may anticipate reasonable and remunerative prices to our farmers, assuming that no undue influence is exercised"by any combination of meat packers for the purpose of depreciating the values of stock in the country of origin or increasing prices to the consumer here. One cannot help feeling, however, that there are clouds on the horizon, at any rate so far as Australasia is concerned. We know the 'position in the Argentine, and I need not further allude to it. According to the reports which reach us from various sources and the reliable figures supplied as the result, of invesligations we learn that a combination of meat packers in America controls something like £25,000,000 of capital, and that the war prices they have obtained have stimulated their operations to an enormous extent, and that they have secured very substantial results. In addition —and perhaps in this respect it may not have been possible to prevent it —they have obtained greater advantages during the war. Nearly all the insulated tonnage was diverted to America, which country sent immense supplies of meat to Great Britain sometimes in excess of our storage capacity, and received prices ranging from .10d to Is 3d per lb, as against 4*d to 5d paid to New Zealand and Australia for beef. Now, were the meat from America of the same high quality as that sent from our country one would, perhaps, not say so much about the undue advantage in prices obtained by the Americans, but one remembers that ours is of the primest and their generally inferior. But one wonders how America sent supplies at all, for prior to till! the United States had almost ceased to export at all, whereas in litis she sent to this country some 218,000 tons. It did not arrive, but I think 180,000 was received. But, the country not being a great meat exporting country, no doubt they drained on their limited supplies and sent the inferior quality to this country. But they had other advantages which they still re tain. They are free from the heavy taxation that is imposed both in our Dominions and in this country on trade profits ; they have no income tax or excess profits tax to pay, and they have the free markets of (his country for their operations, whereas our meat is controlled by the Home Government. Question of Distribution. J. am communicating with the authorities here with a view to seeing that the distribution in our meat, and also in our butter, shall be such that our country shall not suffer from the loss of important trade connections established at considerable enterprise and cost in pre-war days, and I am hopeful dial the Government may meet mo in this respect. There is a discussion as to whethev meat should be freed from Government control. That depends on several factors, especially the grip the Americans have here. I am not prepared to say whether this is wise or not, but this I know—at the present time the Americans arc benefiting by the low price paid for our meat, the profits from which go to swell the amounts paid to the Americans. There is ono point in favour of the removal of con-

trol, and it is this : That, whereas traders are satisfied with a profit on distritmtion of from one-sixteenth of a penny to -]d per lb, it costs the Home Government to handle it the amazing figure of anything from 2d to od per lb. At least so speak reports published by reliable firms on the market. Our enterprising New Zealand Government have endeavoured to meet the methods of the trust by requiring that licenses be issued to all meat exporters. May I refer to the question of distribution, especially as it affects New Zealand and Australia ? It is of the utmost importance that the present golden opportunities should not bo allowed to pass, for they may never occur again. The war has temporarily displaced the agricultural and pastoral products of powerful neutrals in this market, and it is the duty both of the Home Country and the Dominions abroad, supported by their Governments, to sec to it that every opportunity is availed of to re-establish our own in former markets, and to extend, if possible, to those previously held by our foreign competitors. Such an opportunity is offered in connection with the output from Denmark, and it may be of interest if I give the following figures. During 1!)18 the total imports of butter into Great Britain from Denmark were about 2000 tons, as compared with 30,000 in 1917 and 5(5,000 in 1916. Turning from the twule point of view to the strong position held in regard to quality, we here meet with much gratification. We have the food investigation Board very active in its operations. I was at Cambridge on Sunday, and was delighted to learn that many of the ablest professors of the University arc scientifically investigating questions of moat preservation and the handling of fruit and other perishable products in which the Overseas Do-

minions arc concerned. There is now on foot a movement that will without doubt result in great benefit to overseas' producers in connection with tho scientfic application of cold air to produce. Some useful* investigations and experiments have already been made showing the time during which meat can be preserved without the slightest deterioration or loss of nutritive value. A paper was read before the association in February last year by Mr. A. XL Wright, in which he said that, "In view of the fact that quantities of meat arc being held in overseas cold storage for a considerable time beyond the normal period of storage, it is satisfactory to know thOjfc from the standpoint of nutrition and food value, lengthy periods of cold storage for mutton and lamb will not impair these meats provided the necessary degree of freezing is constantly maintained" ; that "the meats remain in the same condition bactcrially as when freshly killed"; and that "the nutritive values of the meats are unaltered." May I parenthetically mention here that had it not been for the regular supplies of frozen meat it would have been impossible for tho Allies to win the war which has been brought to so successful a termination.