TRADE IN PORK

Taranaki Daily News, 17 October 1931, Page 12

TRADE IN PORK

DOMINION’S OPPORTUNITY. WANTS OF ENGLISH MARKET. Porkers, in preference to baconers, offer New Zealand farmers the greater prospects in the exploitation of the London market, according to a letter from Mr. Elliot R. Davis, who is visiting Great Britain, to a business associate in Auckland. The English demand for pork, Mr. Davis says, is about onetwentieth of that for bacon. Dominion producers, lie thinks, should aim at supplying the whole of the pork requirements during the next four or five years. ’ It would be time then to ship as inany carcases as possible for conversion into bacon. “There is undoubtedly a growing recognition by English people that Empire products should have preference, and the present is the psychological moment for New Zealand to get busy,” he writes. “With their limited pig population at the present time there is no possibility of New Zealand farmers being able to satisfy the demand for pork within the next three years, no matter how much they ship. With all the skimmed milk at their disposal, if they breed from two sows where they are now breeding from one, the progeny of the second sow would be all profit to them, less, of course, their labour, and if they do not step yn it with both feet they should hold their peace and not complain about hard times.” . One of the points of interest visited' by Mr. Davis recently was Hayes Wharf, where all the foreign bacon is landed. “The sight,” lie writes, “was an education in itself. There were two Russian ships and a Danish ship unloading bacon and butter when I was there. The bacon comes across four whole sides done up in hessian packages. It has been in pickle for four days and the packages are simply railed off to the counties and to different curing establishments in London, and I am assured that all the bacon which comes here is eaten and consumed within seven days of the pigs having been killed in Denmark. The figures are astounding. In June, 973,000 cwt. were imported, being an increase of 50 per cent, in two years, and the quantities are still increasing. “What is wanted in England is a porker as near as possible to 601 b., but not under, and not exceeding 801 b. This is for the 'English winter months. For the summer months they require 801 b. to 1101 b. porkers. I spent a whole morning at Smitlifield in company with Mr. Forsyth (London manager for the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board) and he introduced me to the butchers there. All of them would stock New Zealand pork if only they could be sure of getting the right article, and also —what is more important —be sure of having it when |hey want it. In a nutshell, England can do with all the millions of porkers New Zealand cau raise in the next five years. Let the farmers grow baconers for their home consumption and send every possible porker to England.”