FORK INDUSTRY

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 224, 20 April 1933, Page 2

FORK INDUSTRY

Ancillary to Dairying

Mr, David Jones, chairman of the Meat Producers’ Board, addressed Canterbury farmers at Ellesmere recently on the importance of the pork industry. He was convinced, be said, that a country which produced as much dairy produce as the Dominion of New Zealand should produce a great deal more pork than at present.

“The question of pig production in New Zealand is not a new one,” added Mr. Jones. “Shortly after the Meat Board started operations I was convinced that there was a great future for our pork and bacon export industry. We are a great dairying country, and the production of pork and perhaps to a smaller extent, that of bacon, should go hand in hand with dairying.’’ He showed how Denmark had an advantage over Now Zealand iu its bacon industry in that it was close to the market. Bacon had not yet been sent to England from Now Zealand successfully, but there was nothing that froze so satisfactorily as pork, and it could be' exported frozen with complete success. Recently a test had been carried out by the Meat Board in which frozen pork from New Zealand had been put in competition with fresh English pork. The judges had awarded the first prize to a piece of New Zealand pork in preference to ihe fresh English meat. In 1024 he had forecast great developments iu the New Zealand pork industry, continued Mr. Jones, and he had helped to arrange a very low rate of freight with shipping companies for the carriage of pork from the Do reinion to England, on the suggestion th it the industry could he expected to expand rapidly. The costs of pork export, therefore were satisfactorily

1 ow. “The marketing of Now Zealand pork to-day is very easy to keep down to the proper weight,” said Mr, Jones, “and the proper weight for the English market is 8011). A New Zealand pig of this size sells as readily as any pork in the world. If a mar has forty cows he ought to keep foil'' sows and, breeding two litters a year, ho should have no difficulty in sending them all off his place at 801 b.” The New Zealand export trade m pork shows a marked increase this year. For the period October 1 tc March 15 this season exports wore 112,231 carcases, compared with 59,149 carcases for the corresponding period of last year. The killings hav' increased to 171,832, or an increase for this year of 87.900 carcases more than for 1931-32 period. These figures are compiled by the Meat Board and include heavy-weight pigs suitable for bacon purposes. Practically all exported went to the United Kingdom.