THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12907, 22 February 1906, Page 6

THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

The following extracts from W. Weddel and Go.*s review of the frozen meat trade frr 1905. have been selected as conveying hints and cautions affecting the Xew Zealand trade of the future:—

The year was characterised by a relative scarcity of small weight sheep, from, all sources of supply, and these commanded a premium of id to per lb on average. Although much has been done in the way of educating customers to use a larger weight of carcase than it was possible to sell in this country ten years ago. there still remains, and is likely to remain for some time, a strong preference for your.g meaty carcases under 56lbs in weight. The tendency amongst breeders throughout the world to produce large-framed sheep or over-fat carcases is in direct conflict with the preferences of consumers la this and other markets. . The remarks made with reference to the very large proportion of heavy" weight carcases apply with equal force in the case of lamb, and shippers would do well to bear in mind that an average of under rather than over 361bs still represents- the most saleable of frozen lambs. Apart from the excessive weight and fotnessv of a large portion of the shipments arriviag, the general quality of Xew Zea*[land lambs was quite satisfactory. . Two practically new sources of supply were tapped last year, viz., Uruguay and Patagonia, from each of which shipmentswere received of fairly satisfactory quality. Unusual interest • attaches to the meat trade in Germany. So scarce and dear are beef anct mutton in that country, that bitter complaints are - constantly made by the working - classes as to the cost of their food, and- in some districts serious disturbances have arisen id" consequence of the'' refusal on the part of the Government to admit foreign meat' into the country} onreasonable terms. At present the government is in the hands -of the Agrarian party, who, far from listening' .to 'the popular clamour, have ffamod new laws which will come into force on: Ist March, raising the import duties by naarsy 50 per cent, on -luch necessaries uf: life: as meat, wheat, bar'ev. maize, etc.

From a British p-.i-tf of vi-w it is. perhaps, most desirable Uiat the coat of living in Germany should lie- iadeiiniieiy lai.seu so that the cempetiiiem of German m;-:iii-bctnres in the open ntar&ets of the world may be lessened tbmugla the intreiied ■>xat of pi eduction; but ircm the poke of of producers of frozen meat in AustzasKa. Xew Zealand, and the Aigemine Bep-nblic. it is, of course; h>»ped that new ;n»r&et? mny presently be- *pened up to than in those countries* of .Europe where the: heme supplies of meat fail to keep pa-sa '.-xjih the growth of pe-pulatiou and wftii the desire on the part of almost all ■workers to obtain supplies- of good animal foo-cF at 3 reasonable cost.

J&. in 2304. the gieat bulk of the c.i.f. business* transacted with 'Sfcw'Zea&uwl eonsisiadl vf *ales of lamb. Only a moderate quantity of mutton. anc2 very little beef, ibuud: buyers ; on a c.i.f. basis. At the b'egihaihg: of the year, a good ssarry prime Cantaubcarj lambs, were sold at 5d per lb e.i.s£ for. rj&tpment' over a of five. six ox sevea months, the:sales, being Boecest or lass- of a "bear" character, but the | majMifcy of sailers held out for s£d. selling I monrlL by month. The few retailers who I sectrredl these cheap supplies; adjasted their! accordingly,, -while- others, tillable to- secure stocks at aaytbioe; lite that! figuraj curtailed their larab. .trade, prefer-. | riiig to- jpasb the, sale ..of. beef, en which i ;tK^ r could>'aecittre.'a [lfteae«jgeralaiiTO sales prcwred iropsofrtaule t andindirectly spoil f ;.the.'retail, laaafi..tradethroughout the sea- I ; sob... As arrivals were not heary.. prices were* maintained in Lohdom at a> r iaxrry high | level until the end of July. In June. ! cut. buyers, operated more freely at about j sid per It*, but these purchases arriving ! late-, in the year, - met a» restricted sale. \ resulting ai heavy losses. It will thus be i seen that, while early speculative sales at | 5d c.Lf. left satisfactory profits to tbeJ purchasers, and sharp losses to the sellers, ] the>more legitimate salesimade later in the year a-t a, higher level landed buyers in losses-^.-without, h<yveyer?. learing any large margin: «f profit to the sellers. Costs in ! fact wece too high so fat- as- freezing works, dealePSy-and retail"" buyers alike Cwere concerned. Growers alone- appear to have Had a satisfactory year.. The market for Newr Zealand lambs is .so completely dominated by the* Canterbury section of the trade, thftafc there is but little »f special interest to be said with respect to other South Island: oar,Xorth Island descriptions, except .that their lighter average weight, secured'for them prices very •close up-to, and .in many'cases equalling. !the rates obtainable.- fori-,best Canterbury brands *f {"Weight. A-few wlea-ft?f 49W' Canterbury lambs i aj» already reports* at yer-llb ] for January Bhipmeat, as' against Sjd. secured for the last year. -It is by no-means improbable *hat; in view of the unusually large stocks of Australian lamb, eaarfied 1 the new year, and" the;pr»spec'fc. ©f r a .heaJrj-iOßSpnt'ftxHa New Zealand, the- redaction' in' prices thus established at th» start of the season will .hare to be increased forward sales can be freely effected. On the.other liana, the present cheapness of Australian lambshould -ultimately create an improved allround demand, which may materially lessen, the risk of any collaps* in prices later in the year.

Last year's total output of the fre*ziag works of ithe world was approximately ,367,550 tons, as compared with 305,586 tons in 1904,- and 324,368 tons in "1903.. ;Of, i-etai, 311,865 tons <anie,- •»<*, |^fii'{.tl^tM^i|^g^^ teas -went to other 'taairEetsJ"• '.'''. :'■"-»".- ;/ "■• v

Two small experimental shipments of chiUea "fceef fron^-^frir3k«a*a<a war* aaa*

during 1905. The result." were disappointing, however, one arriving more or less frozen, and the other being delivered, in such unsatisfactorv condition that it was seized by the health authorities. The prices current for Argentine chilled beef, as compared with thoso of froacnbeef, do not offer much inducement to New Zealand shippers to incur the extra cost and risks of sending beef in a chilled condition to this market.

An .ill-round surrey of the relative positions of beef and mutton would appear to justify the opinion that supplies of the; former arc much more likely to be plentiful than supplies of the latter. It is note- \ worthy that for the past 10 years or sothere "has been a gain in the world's stock of cattle, whkh. though n«t fully com- i mensnrate with the increase .«<f population, has. nevertheless, sufficed to prevent any general advance in value such as may be shown to have occurred in the case of mutton. On the other hand, the stocks I of sheep have been reduced, in all the j principal countries, and ti:ey have ditni- j nished very seriously in some, with the! result that* the world's supply of sheep is now relatively short, and likely to remain dear, in tbe various source,-* of supply. The large quantities of l>eef likely to be forwarded to this market from South America, however, together with the probable maintenance of ~a full domestic supply, make it improbable that there can be any material advance in the value of beef. The position may therefore be that, while mutton (and lamb) continue dear in the countries of production, they may fail to command profitable prices in the principal consuming markets, because of the abundance of beef, coupled with the general preference given to the latter by the masses of the people on anything like level terms. The present dearness of wool, by inducing growers to hold their sheep and lambs as long as possible, may tend to aggravate this disparity in the near future; but, in any case, it would appear as if it would take some years for the world's stocks of sheep so to.increase as to satisfy fully the -normal demand for mutton.

Prospects for 1906.—1n view of the satisfactory position of the general export and import trades of this country, it would appear to be only reasonable to look out for some farther improvement in the consumptive demand in 1906. As» Home supplies and receipts from the United States and Canada aia unlikely to show any great expansion, it is apparent that Australia. Xew Zealand, and the River Plate must be freely drawn upon to supply the growing needs of a population which increases at the rate of 350,000 persons per annum. With a continuance of fairly good seasons. Australian- exports generally- will donbtless increase, and there is every indication that a similar position will be established in New Zealand and in the River Plate. It ii? doubtful" if- any prospective increaro in .the consumption in South Africa, in the [Mediterranean, and in European or other foreign"countries, will lie'of sufficient. volume to affect the course of values in the United Kingdom, which* still absorbs 85 I>er cent, of the world's output of frozen meat. Under such conditions it would, therefore; be unsafe to assume that prices on 1 average will be so iiiga in tbe earning yeas as titer-were in the yjt-sr just cl<tsed.