FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3148, 18 February 1911, Page 2

FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

methods of handling DISCUSSED. OPINIONS OF A SOUTHERN MERCHANT. With regard to the handling of meat ' in the Old' Country, Mr. J. E. Watson, the well-known Southland merchant, remarkedl at the recent meeting of the Southland Frozen Meat Go., that as the result of his recent' trip Home, lie was able to say that while the conditions in London might not be ideal, yet he strongly deprecated such exaggerated language as had been used in regard to them. Exaggeration of that description had a very prejudicial effect upon the sale of New Zealand meat. For instance, an article descriptive of the alleged transit of New Zealand meat upon barges crawling with cockroaches had been published in a newspaper, and one of the leading Smithffeld salesmen had had it cut out and placed in front of his shop, with the notice attached “We do not handle New Zealand 1 meat.” That undoubtedly prejudiced the sale of New Zealand mutton. He would like to point out that in a country like New Zealand they had started from scratch, and had built up their works in the niqst modern and up-to-date style they could. In Lodi don, which was centuries .old, they had not the room to do the same. They lev to get along as best they could with the facilities at their disposal. Considerable improvements should have been made in the first place. While in England he had taken advantage of an op-' portunity of inspecting the Argentine meat at Smithffeld'. It was of very good quality, but could not be placed ‘'alongside New Zealand meat. He must admit that the quality of the meat both from Argentine and Australia was good, although it was not quite the quality of New Zealand mutton; It was imperative that the high standard of New Zea-. land mutton should be maintained, as that was to be the test of the best chance of a ready sale. As regards the extension.t)f the market, there had 1 been a good deal of interest manifested by the industrial population of the Continent in the importation of foreign meat. In Australia and similar countries meat was txtremely dear, and many of the poorer people could not afford to use it. On the Continent a very large amount of horseflesh was consumed for food. The agitation had resulted in a trial shipment of about 300 tons of Argentine meat being sent to Trieste and it was all greedily bought up. At Budapesth, in Austria-Hungary, lie was in the Strangers* Gallery in the Hungarian Parliament when the deputy made a very important speech which his (Mr. Watson’s) guide said was a very violent attack upon the introduction of colonial meat. That showed that the question was being debated keenly in these countries, and lie could not help thinking that the great growth of the industrial population in Germany, Austria, and Hungary would in time force the hands of the Governments there to admit frozen meat. It seemed 1 a preposterous tiling that our meat was denied entry on hygienic grounds, while horse flesh was allowed to be consumed. Whether it was Argentine meat or New Zealand meat that was sold did not matter, because if they took Argentine meat it would make a hole in the market in the Old Country for our meat to go in.