FROZEN MEAT IN 1909.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2726, 3 February 1910, Page 7

FROZEN MEAT IN 1909.

VALUABLE REPORT BY GILBERT ANDERSON AND CO.

WHY PRICES SLUMPED

The meat market for the year ending 19011 may virtually bo said to have come to a close. During the week, and for the remainder, of the month, the market will be given over to the sale of game, poultry, rabbits, and hares, the people taking this opportunity to get a change of diet during the festive season. The . opinion is generally held that the year 1909 has been the worst yet experienced in the meat trade. The disappointment and the losses in the colony are only equalled by the losses which have been made on this side. The causes which led to this state of •-lings are various, of which the following are the principal:— The summer of 190 S was exceptionally favorable in Great Britain. Ireland and the Continent for the fattening of stock. Much larger quantities of Home and foreign meat were sent to the market for realisation than previously. These supplies continued right into the beginning of this year and on 'to April. The prices accepted for the Home grown meat were lower than had been previously known by any of the p rosi-fit meat salesmen. This, however, should only have affected the sale of the very best frozen meat, such as Canterbury.?, and affected the price of that class of meat to a limited extent only. The previous year had seen relatively high values for all classes" of meat, the average for Australian lambs being 5(1, Australian 'mutton 3id, New Zealand lambs being sgd, and New Zealand mutton 4_fd. For the -first three months of the year 1909 and 1908 the- shipments of mutton were :

1909. 1908. Australian ... 393,000 72,000 River Plate ... 903,000 557.000 New Zealand 627,000 510,000 Total 1,923,000 1,109,000 The position of tho lamb shipments for tlie same period was as follows: 1909. 1908. Australia ... 212.000 290.000 River Plate 156,000 53,000 New Zealand 1,032,000 990,000

Total 1,460,000 1,333,000 making a total of 3,383.000 carcases of mutton and lamb in 1909 as against 2,502,000 in 190 S, i.e., an increase of 881,000 carcases, being 25 per cent. It was apparent that the high prices asked for Australian meat was preventing the goods going into consumption, and stocks were accumulating. At slightly lower prices sales should have kept pace with the shipments. There was every indication that a congestion in the stores would result unless sales were made more rapidly. For the next three months the shipments of mutton were: 1909. 1908. Australia ... 205,000 130,000

River Plate 730,000 999,000 New Zealand 635,000 415,000

Total 1,570,000 1,547,000 Tlie shipments of lamb for the same period were:

1909.190 S. Australia ... 80,000 1 20,000 River Plate ... 110,000 98,000 New Zealand 1,504,000 1,035,000 Total 4,694,000 1,253,000 Tlie prices ruling when tlie shipments arrived from New Zealand wore Canterbury mutton 34 d, ■, North islands 3-i-d, Australians 2§d, Canterbury lambs 53d, North Islands 4fjd to 5d Australians 341 to 4gd and River Plates 3Jd, and at these prices a considerable trade was done. The prices up to the middle of June were: Canterbury lambs 4-Jd to 4sd, North Islands. 3jd to 4d, Australian 3Jd to 34d, Canterbury mutton 3jjd, North Islands 2£d to 2id. and River Plates 2jd to 2gd. Up to this date Canterburys were going into rapid consumption at, those prices. It was well known prior to this that stocks in London were accumulating faster than the sales, the supply being in excess of the demand. Tlie stores now were in a more or less congested condition, so that when the heavy shipment’s sent from New Zealand during April and May arrived, the vessels found great difficulty in discharging. Australian shippers by this time had fully realised the position and their stocks had virtually been realised at prices which Jed to a large consumption, Australian lambs being sold on a basis of 3d, and mutton on the basis of 2.1 d.

The weakness in the position of Now Zealand was 'now very marked. Apparently large consignments had been sent to sellers without any organised methods of distribution, and the quantity of New Zealand meat sent to Smithfield was in excess of the requirements. The trade at this point was hopelessly congested. Very slight advantage had been taken of the means of distribution which were available at West Coast ports, as with the exception of Liverpool, stores at West Coast ports were practically empty. The whole of the meat was pitched in sight of the London buyers. What is properly termed as a “rot” set in, and although the Home and foreign meat was off the market, the best goods, i.e. Canterburys, fell to an absurdly low price. The principal agents endeavored to hold up the market, but as the bulk of the goods were not in their hands, the pitchings on the Smithfield market became so acufe that the price of Canterbury lambs fell as low as Australian had been sold for, the record being reached on August 20th when Canterbury lambs 28/36 were ouoted at 3fd, 36/42 2|d, and 42/50 f Z-d. North Islands we;e quoted' at 3d, Uaterbury mutton, at 2§d, and North Islands at 2fd. The shipments for the three months, 'July, Au'gust and September, were: 1909. 1908. Australia ... 180,000 176,000 River Plate ... 640,000 796,000 New Zealand 286,000 512,000

Total 1,106,000 1,484,000 / a shortage of 375,000 carcases. The shipments of lamb were:— £f fdv--1909. IP/assured Australia ... 11,000 92appy reRiver Plate ... 73,000 i f New Zealand 432,000 42irviceable — - as obtains Total * 516,000 , r j.comes eliThe ‘shipments of mutton ,- ber, November, December to gj and 1909. ,our reliable Australia . ... 610,000 c Gun-metal River Plate ... 379,000 hi allowed. New Zealand 220,000 if . _ C Total 1,209,000 fo ATCH /INGION.

MRS, BELLERBY, Manageress,

PRESH FISH.—Onr trawler, fresh from her annual overhaul on tno slip, is hard at work again, and is daily bringing in shoals of shimmering Fresh Fish from the briny. Fish is the approve l hot weather diet. Sec our windows. W puylor, the Fisk King. Tel. 515.

Tile following report- by Messrs ■ Gilbert Anderson and Co., of London, lias been made available to us by the courtesy of tilie local manager of the Union Bank of Australia: —

Tlie shipments of lamb for October ’November, December, were:

1909. 1908. Australian ... 835,000 862,000 -River Plate ... 68,000 202,000 New Zealand 135,000 134,000 Total 1,038,000 1,198,000

t The position was never such as tq e warrant these very low prices, and the e opinion is confidently held that a mis nimurn of 4d could have been obtain- • tor the bulk of Canterbury lambs, f The low prices continued until the mid- _ die of October, when owing to the light shipments from the River Plate, the . ’River Plate sellers realised that there . was no necessity for taking the exccs- . sively low prices, and especially for 3 mutton. As a consequence the prices t ,°1 River Plate sheep were raised from . 3jjd to 4Jd. ; The prices for Canterbury sheep were i also raised from 3sd to 41 d, as also j. North Islands from 3|d to 4gd. Lamb in proportion. Unfortunately at this period the supplies of Homo and foreign meat were . coining on the market, and Dutch shippers, who were endeavoring to open up the- French trade, suddenly found a better market on Smithfield. Home grown stuff also came on the market at prices slightly above what was asked for frozen, sales being made at the end of October for Dutch mutton at 4kl to sr,d, English owes at 3jfcl to 4|d, English wethers 4ld to 6d, consequently the trade- wont off tlie frozen meat on to the Home grown. Lho result of this was that during the months of October, November, and December, there was a very slow and dragging sale for frozen meat, and it is reported that several holders arc still left with stale and old stock which should have- gone into consumption at liighfer prices than is likely now to be realised. In conclusion we have to express our opinion that the disasters of the year were about mainly by:—’ 1. The largo supply of Australian meat at the beginning of the war, which was held instead of being sold. It must be recognised that for the lower class meats there i s an unlimited market here at a price, and the quantity that can be consumed in this, country at prices for mutton at say about 2ld to 3d, is very great. 2. That for the better class meat, re- I gelation of shipments and wide d:s- ' tribution is the only remedy. This year has taught us that wo have - hot made any progress in the methods of organisation. We have yet to learn 1 that all markets are governed bv tlie law of “supply and demand,” that the < wider the markets, tlie steadier the s prices, and that an excess of ship- 1 ments or supplies pitched on a market 1 which is already suffering from over- t stock means disaster. The huge sup- 7 plies anticipated from all quarters spelt T lower prices than previous years. We could not expect 6d for Canterbury lambs, or 5d for Canter- ' bury mutton, in face of Home grown 11 meat being sold at less monev, and the i 1 large shipments of mutton at the he- °

ginning of the year from ail sources should have prepared shippers lor relatively lower prices. The congestion of the market, and the shipments from Now Zealand dnring April-May of 538,000 carcases mutton and 1,201,000 carcases lamb was courting disaster, especially when sent without control. It must be fully recoguised that when stock in tlie colony is in a prime condition, it must be killed and frozen and the first shipment should be sent off as rapidly as possible As far as New Zealand is concerned these shipments should bo made up to the end of March. After March it should be possible to closely estimate what the total supplies will ‘be for the year, and from that date the shipments should be made so as to equalise tlie supply for the remainder of tlie year caro having been taken not to send heavy shipments of lamb to arrive in August. The frozen mutton and lamb market trade is pne for all the year round, anci regular supplies moan regular trade. Beef.—Although shipments from ali districts were in excess of previous years, the market remained comparatively steady. During August, when mutton, nnd lumb wore selling nt sue]) extremely low prices, beef remained fairly firm, the price being fop fores 2-2 d, which may be taken as th 0 average price throughout the year; for hinds, the average price was about 3}d m June this reached 4jjd. ’ The market has absorbed all tlie frozen beef which has been sent along. Australmn shipments were some 200r., garters more than last vear River Plate virtually the same, New Zealand about 100,000 more than last year.

Clulled Beef.—The River Plate companies have been devoting more energy to the chilled beef shipments throughout the year, these have been on an in creasing scale. For the year there will be quite 200,000 quarters shinped ov - last year. The prospects for the new » . encouraging. The old stw* -nAFAKA. cleared out or sold at s/ not to interfere with the 1 1 Supplies of Home and i end. With .regulay' carcases good PjOTEL.

TOTAL SHI ia g c f the above Hotel jeen taken over by the unAvho begs to assure Patrons /Reputation of the Hotel as < most popular accommodation Australia/the district will be fully susItiver PIJ New Z^/ otel is very conveniently situijti' to the Morere Hot Springs, which 7 largely resorted to for their cura--7e properties, and the looal-ity is made /iore attractive to Holiday-seekers by the beautiful bush scenery. TARIFF MODERATE, and special arrangements made with Families and Patrons on an extended visit. Special attention paid' to Invalids, who may obtain the diet best suited to their particular ailments. Connections with Gisborne and Wairoa twice weekly. Telegrams and letters promptly attended to.