6 



Imports of Bacon and Hams. 



major part of the imports of foreign bacon into this country. 

 It is sometimes supposed that the bacon received from trans- 

 atlantic sources is mainly of Canadian origin, and that the 

 exports from the ports of the United States include consign- 

 ments in transit from the Dominion. That this is not the case 

 may be proved by reference to the Trade Returns of the two 

 countries concerned. From the United States the exports of 

 bacon of home production are stated to have ranged during 

 the live years ended June 30th, 1898, from 3,720,000 cwts. to 

 5,800,000 cwts. yearly, and about 75 per cent, of these consign- 

 ments were directed to British ports, the remainder going 

 chiefly to Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Canada. 

 In the same period the exports of bacon and hams from the 

 Dominion ranged from 250,000 cwts. to' 760,000 cwts. 

 annually, and nearly the whole was shipped directly to the 

 United Kingdom, the quantity sent to the United States 

 exceeded 1,000 cwts. in only one year. 



The prices of bacon and hams are subject to greater fluctu- 

 ations than those of other meat products ; but in the five years 

 dealt with in the above statement their movement was on 

 the whole retrograde. For bacon the average import value 

 in 1894 was 43s. iod. per cwt, which was not unusually 

 high ; in the next twelve months there was a drop of 4s. iod^ 

 followed by a further fall of 4s. 6d. in 1896, when the declared 

 value was 34s. 6d. ; but in each ot the subsequent years there 

 was a slight recovery, which brought the average for 1898 up 

 to 36s. 2d. per cwt. Hams presented a descending scale of 

 values throughout the whole period, their average falling 

 from. 49s. id. to 39s. 6d. per cwt. The latter amount is the 

 lowest average value recorded for imported hams in the past 

 thirty years. 



American bacon and hams realise lower prices than the 

 Canadian, but both are inferior in value to the Danish con- 

 signments of these products. 



In view of the important position occupied by the United 

 States as a purveyor of bacon to our markets, considerable 

 interest attaches to the change in the swine stock of that 

 country. The number of swine in the United States on the 

 1 st January, 1899, according to the official Returns, was 



