NEW ZEALAND MEAT.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1924, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND MEAT.

POPULARITY IN ENGLAND MR. DAVID JONES’ CONCLUSION. . TO ADVERTISE.” London, August 16. Th© desirableness of inaugurating an advertising campaign to make better known in the Mother Country New Zealand meat and its high standard of quality has lately been discussed by the New Zealand Meat Produfeers’ Board. Mr. David Jones, chairman of the board, who has been on a tour of the chief provincial centres, has concluded that an advertising scheme is not necessary, because all the butchers already of their own initiative display prominently labels and cards bearing words such as ‘New Zealand meat,” “Canterbury lamb.’’

The boards system of advertising Ne'w Zealand, lamb by sending choice carcases direct to any address in Great Britain has been particularly successful. During his tour Mr. Jones did not meet a single butcher who was not ready to acknowledge the superiority of New Zealand meat in comparison with other imported meat. Indeed, the Dominion’s product stands in a class by itself, and the general recognition throughout. England of its high quality is sufficient guarantee of the extension of the demand for it. In these days there is not so much imported meat from other countries as formerly being sold as “New Zealand,” while it is a gratifying fact that wholesale prices for the New Zealand product are always considerably higher than are the prices of any other class of imported meat.

During a brief visit to Belfast, Mr. Jones noticed that a small quantity of prime lamb had been landed there, but he does not anticipate that there will ever be anything but an exceedingly small demand for New Zealand meat in Ireland. There has never been a very great sale for frozen meat of any kind in Scotland, the chief reason being that the country always lias had a good supply of its own home-grown meat, while, further, with one or two exceptions, the Scottish cities are not so large as the English provincial centres, and they can therefore be fed without the aid of refrigeration. Nevertheless, the trade in imported meat is increasing in Glasgow and Edinburgh, though Mr. Jones does not anticipate a very large development of business there in best-quality mutton and lamb. NEED FOR DOUBLE BAGGING. In Glasgow there is a fairly large trade in poor qualities of beef, more particularly in boned beef. In all the shops there is a great of minced meat and sausage meat always available for sale, and this is what the working classes seem most to buy. Last year the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board made the double bagging of beef compulsory, and the trade here is very appreciative of this improved mode of covering. But the board did not include boned beef in its regulation; because it was not desired to add additional cost to a low-priced article. However, Mr. Jone.s is satisfied, after seeing the state in which thd boned beef arrives, that its double bagging is essential for the future. Some of the New Zealand firms he.ve already adopted this method, and

a« the result.their meat turns out irt much better condition.

A more.regular trade in meat generally has been done with the West of England ports, partly because of the increased demand, but largely because of the cheaper handling costs as compared with the Port of London. Mr. Jones says that Manchester to-day is the cheapest port for cold storage in; the United Kingdom, and it offers very, attractive terms over any very lengthened period of storage. The rates of cold storage in ]»ndon, which are practically fixed by the Port of Londnik Authority are almost prohibitive. the present moment Mr. Jones is investigating closely the reasons for the high storage charges in London, and in. ! due course he will make a report to hies ' board as to the best means of over* coming them. REGUTuATION OF SUPPLIES. In some measure New Zealand haa found the solution of overcoming thq difficulty by careful regulation of s-bkp-roents, so that as far as possible the meat is stored in the Dominion when necessary, instead of in London. Even so, the present rates of cold storage in Jjondon are a very heavy burden for thq trade to carry. ■lt has always been known that in thei provincial and manufacturing centres its is the second-quality meat that best ■suite the requirements of the ooneumers, and that the sale of choice grades would be comparatively small. Mr. Jones has come to the same conclusion, and he has been told by those who know that the first-quality meat is not suited to the miU-workers in Manchester, for instance, where the humidity of the atmosphere and the nature of the work makes it impossible for these consumers to digest much fat. Lean meat is what they must have.