Imports of Agricultural Produce. 



493 



Table I. 

 Imports of Live and Dead Meat. 



Description. 



Quantities. 



Values. 



1902. 



1903. 



1902. 







1903. 



Cattle 



Sheep 



No. 

 419,488 

 293,203 



No. 

 522,546 

 354,241 



£ 



7,814,753 

 454,422 



£ 



9,209,122 

 546,063 



Total Live Animals ... 



712,691 



876,787 



S,26 9 ,i75 



9,755» l8 5 



Beef, Fresh 



Salted 



Mutton, Fresh 



Pork „ 



„ Salted 



Bacon 



Hams 



Meat, Unenumerated, 



Salted or Fresh 

 Meat, Preserved ... 

 Rabbits (dead) ... 



Cwt. 

 3,707,3 8 7 



153,574 

 3,659,599 



655-376 



205,259 

 5,089.704 

 1,482.287 



655,023 

 9H,356 

 451,457 



L.wt. 

 4,159,606 



173,692 

 4,016,622 



705,844 



237,583 

 5,156,988 



1,141,332 



• 



663,261 

 767,557 

 475,645 



7,905,064 

 244,002 

 6,914,911 

 1,446,145 



305,584 

 13,426,967 

 3,858,902 



1,199,110 

 2,786,194 

 734,326 



8,366,141 

 245,605 



7,826,062 



i,555-452 

 319,264 

 13,619,140 



3,142,574 



1,206,152 

 2,435,826 

 723,881 



Total Dead Meat 



16,971,022 



17,498,130 



38,821,205 



39,440,097 



There was a substantial increase in the imports of fresh 

 mutton, New Zealand sending us 400,397 cwt., and Argentina 

 133,269 cwt. more than in 1902, though the receipts from 

 Holland and Australia both show a considerable decrease. 

 The rise in the value per cwt. of imported fresh mutton was 

 continued, the price being 39s. as against 37s. 9d. in 1902, 

 36s. 7d. in 1901, 34s. 5d. in 1900, 31s. 7d. in 1899, and 29s. 7d. 

 in 1898. 



The imports of bacon remain substantially the same, though 

 there was a slight increase, and the value per cwt. was 52s. iod., 

 which is id. more than in 1902. The decrease in the import 

 of bacon from the United States, which was noticed in 1901 

 and 1902, still continues, but the receipts from Denmark and 

 Canada have increased. Taking bacon and hams together, 

 the proportion of the total import which is supplied from the 

 United States has fallen from 80 per cent, in 1901 to 60 per 

 cent, in 1903. 



With the exception of preserved meat, hams are the only item 

 in Table I. which show a decrease as compared with 1902, the 



