ME A T EXPOR T TRA BE. 2 O I 



Fro?:en Meat. 



The export of frozen meat was initiated as far buck as I88O, but 

 the demand for sheep to stock new country caused the trade to Ijc 

 neglected, and New Zealand growers took up tlie running willi sucli 

 good-will tliat from an experimental cargo in 1881, landed in sj)lendiil 

 order after mucli difHculty, the trade has ex])anded into the enormous 

 dimensions of over 2,405>,U()0 sheep in 181>."). In l8'Jl New South 

 Wales sheep-owners were forced to take action, and some hundred tons 

 of frozen meat were sent to London. The trade grew to ;}(J5,000 

 carcases in 1893 to 534,000 in 1894, but 1895 lias seen a great develop- 

 ment in the trade, and over a million carcases of frozen mutton 

 have been exported. The shrinkage from drought and from the lato 

 very severe -winter will, without doubt, largely curtail the export 

 of meat from New South Wales for the next few years. Should any 

 considerable shipments be made the local market must advance rapidly, 

 with the result of at once curtailing any more shipments. Since 1883, 

 which was shortly after the first large shipment of frozen moat from 

 New Zealand, there has been a heavy fall in England in the value of all 

 meat, but the fall in value of frozen meat has been very nuich more 

 pronounced than that in home growni. In 1884 the value of prime 

 home-grown mutton was 7jd. a lb. In 1887 it fell to a little over Od., 

 recovered again in 1889 to 8jd., and fell again to 7d., at about which 

 average value it has stood for the last five years. 



New Zealand mutton has fallen from an average f)f Gd. in 188 !• to 

 an average of 'i^(\. in 1893. The average for 1895 will be much lower, 

 Australian mutton was worth 5|d. in 1884, and it also has steadily 

 fallen in value till now the average price is under 3d. It will be seen, 

 therefore, that while there was only Id. a 11). decline in value of 

 best English mutton from 1884 to 1893, New Zealand declined in the 

 same time nearly 2d., and Australian, 2id. a lb. We need not 

 look behind the scenes for an occult reason for this difference in the 

 relative decline. The cause is without doubt to be found primarily in 

 the increased supplies of New Zealand and Australian meat ; but the 

 irregular and spasmodic manner in which frozen meat has been put 

 on the market has also very much to do with it. In this connection 

 it must be borne in mind that the period at which frozen meat was 

 first introduced was one of exceptionally high prices, and meat had 

 been quoted higher than for forty years previously. The ap])arently 

 low prices that have ruled since may be only a return to previous 

 normal conditions ; but it must also be remembered that owing to a 

 variety of causes the value for all products have been at a lower level 

 than ordinary during the last few years. 



Frozen meat has in no tcay affected the value of hod home-grown 

 mutton ; the two commodities never come into competition. They 

 run, in fact, on parallel lines. The price of either is not influenced 

 by the relative value of the other, but by the supply on hand of each 

 particular meat. For instance, in 1886 there was a substantial rise ot 

 nearly Id. in English mutton because English sheep had decreased m 

 that year bv nearly half a million, vet at the same tune there was a 

 fall in frozen mutton in sympathy with the large increase m importa- 

 tions of 700,000 frozen \shcep. Again, in 1888, there was a rise ot 



