DEAR MEAT NEXT WINTER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3181, 29 March 1911, Page 8

DEAR MEAT NEXT WINTER.

RISE IN PRICE EXPECTED.

It is stated: on- the authority of those wh-o are always dealing with the subject, says the “Dominion,” that next winter will se a beef famine in New Zealand, and also an era of dear mutton. One of the main causes of the cattle decrease •in the Dominion has been the wholesale slaughter of young calves, which, has now been proceeding for years. The death rate in Taranaki has averaged sixty thousand],, annually, and these figures give a very good indication of what- the' total must be for the two islands. The fact that new country is'being largely settled, and cattle are required for breaking-up purposes is another -reason why the demand at present greatly exceeds the supply. The drought in the South Island has intensified! the cattle scarcity and for the past six months there have been regular shipments of steers front the North Island to Christchurch, and now supplies are on the point of partial depletion. Beef “off the hoot” was sold the other day at 3 3-8 d per pound, and an authority declares that in the winter the price will go up to 4 2-sd. These latter figures represent 40s per 1001 b pf meat bought alive, and the retail prices are certain to rise correspondingly. It is quite pohsible that the retail price may be Is per pound. The drought is also blamed for the rojected price of mutton. With dry weather and no feed, stock, is being rushed pell mell into the freezing works, and 1 frozen, andi the lateness of the season’s feed coming in, combined with poor rape crops, will prevent- the decreased suplies from coining forward as they otherwise should do. It is suggested that there is a possibility _ that this winter the New’ Zealand public may be forced to largely dine off its own frozen mutton, large supplies of which are being now held in some of the freezing works. Paradoxically enough New Zealand beef and mutton are both exceedingly low in price in Great Britain.