8 THE WORLD'S MEAT FUTURE 



England has been the principal market for Argentine beef, 

 which it admitted free of duty, while many of the other 

 European countries imposed prohibitive import duties. This 

 condition 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. W. Weddel 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 con- 

 sidered very satisfactory under war conditions. 



" That this great industry has been maintained 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. 



" The official weights of the various descriptions of frozen 

 and chilled meat imported into the United Kingdom in 1917, 

 as well as the number of packages, are not available, but those 

 for the previous four years, along with the approximate total 

 import in 1917, were as follows : — 



L913 1914 1915 



Australia 150,666 tons 143,853 tons 124,572 tons 



New Zealand 122,234 „ 142,700 „ 157,901 „ 



Argentine Rem in ir 400.211 „ 356,936 „ 293,909 „ 



Other Countries .. .. 38,146 „ 50.938 „ 86,543 „ 



Total 720,257 tons 694,427 tons 662,925 tons 



1916 1917 



TRALIA 51,343 tons 



New Zealand 158,123 „ 



Argentine Republic . . 240,297 ,, 



Other COUNTRIES . . . . 84,048 ,, 



About 

 Total 533,811 tons 550,000 tons 



Argentina has been shipping very heavily also to the United .States during 

 the past two years. 



