Who Sells Frozen Mutton?

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6401, 21 November 1888, Page 4

Who Sells Frozen Mutton?

The following is from the 8t James' Gazette:— It has been pointed out that although vast numbers of carcasses of frozen meat are known to be imported into England from foreign countries and the Colonies the retail of them is by no means co common and prominent a business as one would expect it to be. It is argued that, as somebody must sell and somebody must buy this meat, its virtual disappearance as soon as it left the hands of the wholesale dealer. could only be accounted for on the supposition that at lea3t a c xtsiderable part of it is sold and bought as English meat. Probably this is a subject upon which some further information , will be welcome. There is reason to suppose that the general public has AN EEBONEOTTS CONCEPTION , of the original cheapness of foreign and colonial meat. The belief is that cattle and sheep can be had in the Argentine Republic, in Australia, and in New Zealand almost for the asking, and that the cost of transporting the carcasses to this country is next to nothing. The facts, however, are very different. Unless the farmer gets a clear 2d per lb for his carcasses (we are now taking the case of Australian or New Zealand mutton) it does not pay him to go into the business. Then the carriage of carcasses to London amounts to 1-Jd perlb, not counting the risks — which often result in serioas loss — attending the preservation of the cargo during the voyage. Any failure of the refrigerating machinery may involve the destination of the whole consignment, consisting perhaps of 30,000 carcasses. It is little enough if we put down -Jd per lb under this head. Thus 4d per lb is gone before the meat is actually landed in this country, and certainly if it sells for less than that a loss is incurred. On arrival here the carcasses are put into barges, which serve as refrigerators, or into freezing warehouses, from when! c supplies are drawn daily according to the demand at Smithfield Meat Market. The sale there iB entrusted to regular sales* men, who work for 2 per cent commission, which the importer pays. The present AVERAGE PEICEB AT 6MITHFIELD are the following :— s. d. c. <3. Bcotcjh mutton and lamb, per 81b... 5 2 to 5 6 English wether... ... 4 « to 5 0 Dutah ... ... 4 8 to 5 0 Ewes ... , ... 4 2 to 4 4 frozen New Zealand 8 2 to S 6 Jo Australian ... ... ... 3 0 to S 2 It will be seen that, on the average, the Homegrown meat is about one- third higher in price than the Colonial, and that the amount realised by the latter ranges from 4sd to s£d per lb. Quite recently as much as 6d has been paid for the best qualities; but even the present prices are higher than usual, because, owing to the abundant rain of this summer, the English farmer has a liberal supply of fod <er, and does nob need to hurry his stock to the market. The various qualities of frozen mutton should here be noted, in orderthat what follows as to the retail sale may be understood. The lowest is River Plate mutton, weighing from 401 bto 481 bto the carcass, and fetching 4^d to 4^d per lb. The next is " Sydney (N.5.W.)," weighing from 501 bto 541 b, and fetching 4§d per lb. v Then comes " New Zealand ordinary," in large carcasses of 601 bor 701 b, worth from 4§d to sd ; and at the top of the list is " New Zealand, Canterbury," about 601 b to the carcass, and easily realising SJ-d if nob s£d per lb. Those are the present rates. From this it will be seen that it is not at Smithfield that excessive profits are made out of the frozen meat business. WHAT BECOMES OF THIS MEAT —from 25,000 to 30,000 carcasses a week— when it leaves Smithfield ? We have been at some pains to find the answer to that question, with some curious results. Of course it passes into the hands of the retail trade. Now, in the retail trade you find that the sale and the price of frozen meat run up and down a sort of gamut. . At the one extreme there is the highly reßpectable, old-established, credit-giving "purveyor," who would not touch frozen meat with a pitchfork. " Why, sir, it would ruin my business if I were known so much as to look at it ; my customers are not • that ' sorb of people," &c. At the other extreme is the butcher of the "Buy! buy! buy!" order, who openly boasts that he has nothing else than frozen, meat to offer to . his patrons of Mile-end road or the NewCut. At various points between these two extremes wa find tho following varieties : — The butcher who, though never keeping it in .stock, is willing to order it for you. The butcher who confesses to having some in stock, though "it is not his practice" to exhibit it in his shop. The butcher who does exhibit it, with or without (generally without) a small label. The butcher who openly keeps a supply both of English and foreign meat, in about equal proportions. The butcher who deals mainly in foreign meat, makiner that his special business. Most people have heard of two well-known and prosperous firms of the last class who carry on their trade in Leadenhall market ; the others are to be found in most parts of London, although, as we have said, not in sufficient numbers to account for the honest disposal of the vast quantities of meat imported into the country. It would serve no useful purpose to name examples, and we go on, therefore, to THE QUESTION OF FBICE, taking New Zealand mutton as the standard. The "whole sheep" ranges from 5Jd in Canningtown to 6£d in Clapham; "legs" from 6d in Walworth to 8d in Marylebon-, Lee, Clapham, Crpydon and Windsor; "saddles," &c., from 6d in CanniDgtown, Peckham and Walworth, to 7d in Kentishtown, Lee, Croydon and "Windsor; "neots" from 4d in Wai worth to6d in Windsor; while "breasts" seem to be about equally priced elsewhere. The differences are onrious, and may perhaps be explained by locality. We may add that at the Junior Army and Navy Stores the prices of New Zealand mutton, best quality, are as follows: — Whole 6heep» ssd; legs, 8d; shoulders, <J|d; saddles or loins, 6d ; necks, 6*d j breasts, 3d. The best joints here are as dear, and the inferior joints more than as cheap, as at the shops named above. It is a curious thing, however, that in most cases the retailer charges a customer just 2d a pound more for legs than he does for the whole carcass, whether ha is selling native or foreign meat. Now, if the increase is fair in the former case, it must obviously be excessive in tfoe latter. So far we have dealt only with, the open and honest trade in thiß commodity; and it will have been seen that to b/oth the wholesale and the retail dealer ifc yields a moderate and fair profit. \ THS DISHONEST DEALEB. —the man who supplies foreign meatwhen his customers want and pay for homer grown— is, of course, more difficult to get at ; and probably he never will be got at effectually until he is made the subject 'of a law like the Margarine and Trade MaTbe, 4tct, which would compel him under heav.v penalties to label as such all foreign meat, fre exposes for sale or eella. In the meantime something might be done by taking note of the deliveries of foreign meat to the various retailers at Smithfleld, and ascertaining how many of those who undoubtedly buy frozen meat openly sell it a/3 'such. "In further referring to the subject on 'Oct. 5, the St James' Gazette has the . following : — . "It is quite a mistake, says Mr Borth« wick, of Liverpool, to suppose that New Zealand mutton is befoar 'palmed on the public' aB English. He is inclined to think that it is the other way about, and , that & good deal of inferior English mutton is sold as being of New Zealand origin. That may be so, perhaps — but it is not very likely; our question, ac to what becomes of the thousands of carcasses of colonial mutton which in England • every week, stills remains unanswered. ; Perhaps Mr Borthwick will explain a little further? If not, we may he tempted to i pursue our inquiries as to what is vltimately • done with this meat."

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