THE WORLD'S MEAT FUTURE 13 



The meat-packing industry of Argentina has been spared the 

 hardships incident to the experimental stages of a new undertak- 

 ing. Its market was already created ; finely-bred cattle were 

 available in Europe and the United States; it had but to model 

 its packing houses along well-established lines. It was not until 

 1901, when the exports from the United States began to decline 

 materially, that exports of Argentine beef began to assume im- 

 portance; but since that date the increase has been steady and 

 rapid. Australia and New Zealand, w^th a well-established 

 trade in frozen mutton, supplied the markets for this product. 

 In the beginning Argentina paid but little attention to the 

 raising of hogs, so that the export of pork was of relatively 

 little importance. During the period of 1908 to 1914 a decided 

 change took place. The number of hogs in Argentina in 1914 

 represented an increase of 1,496,994 over the number in 1908, 

 w^hile cattle and sheep showed a corresponding decrease. This 

 would seem to indicate that special attention is being paid to 

 the pork-packing branch of the industry. Another indication 

 of the future tendency is the fact that the Armour company has 

 equipped its new plant wath facilities for handling 1,000 hogs 

 in addition to the 1,500 cattle and 2,500 sheep per day. 



England has been the principal market for Argentine beef, 

 w^hich it admitted free of duty, while many of the other 

 European countries imposed prohibitive import duties. This con- 

 dition is changing, due partly to the war demands; Italy and 

 France are importing large quantities of frozen beef for their 

 armies, and the United States has opened its markets to foreign 

 meat. 



With regard to the current situation, Messrs. Weddell and Co., 

 in their annual report of 1917, give interesting particulars, which 

 are worth quoting in extenso : — 



"The world's export output of frozen and chilled beef, mutton 

 and lamb in 1917 is estimated at 965,000 tons, as against 

 915,380 tons in 1916, 881,075 tons in 1915, and 800,375 tons in 

 1914 — a steady rate of expansion which must be considered very 

 satisfactory, under war conditions. 



"That this great industry has been mantained on so large a 

 scale throughout the whole period covered by the war speaks 

 well for the energy of suppliers, the efficiency of the British 

 Navy, the pluck of the Mercantile Marine, and the enterprise 

 of the Allied Governments, for whom the handling of the great 

 bulk of these exports is now organised. 



