NORTH ISLAND MUTTON TRADE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3233, 1 June 1911, Page 2

NORTH ISLAND MUTTON TRADE.

ALLEGED CAPTURE BY SOUTH

AMERICA

A London writer says that the position in the frozen meat trade is very unsatisfactory, and that grave fears are felt that many of the 'features of the disastrous 1909 1 year .may be repeated.’' “As to mutton,” he says, “the fact that shmoers in New Zealand were careless enough to let months go by without supplies -in any" volume being despatched, enabled the South American mutton to be pushed forward,- and to capture a good part of the demand that lias been experienced in the. past for North Island New Zealand mutton.” He goes on to show the increases in various kinds of meat, and then, says: “Roughly these imports of frozen and chilled beef, mutton, and lamb', aie at the rate of over 600,000 tons per ■ annum, an enormous and unprecedented quantity. Taking shipments for the quarter from South America, and Australasia , the figures are just as colossal as actual imports into Great Britain.. The total of carcases of mutton and lamb despatched is about millions. Very heavy increases are shown in mutton'and lamb, as compared with 1910, both in shipments and imports. The additional quantities sold at a reduced price may certainly return greater gross returns than the smaller ones of former years at better nates, but certainly the reduction in market value, both actually realised and likely to ocme, may be reckoned upon as a factor in the 1911 trade. ■ The stores are getting full of frozen mutton and lamb, and the accumulation cf lambs is considerable. The forward trade has been seriously checked by this feature; it always is, for operatois never care to speculate, wihen they see plenty of available goods on the spot to be bought at.ai cheap price. Hie principal' feature of the frozen meat market at the moment is the extreme dullness of North Island mutton .and lamb At times both, of these articles are unsaleable. The dull trade in lambs is accounted for by the wintry weathei experienced. No restaurant-keeper has yet been bold enough to put lamb on his bill of fare.”