2 
greed percentage basis which is presumably regulated, in each 
case, by the quantity which the company concerned is able to 
lispose of through its organisation. This, in theory at least, 
sets a limit to the efforts of each to increase its business at the 
expense of the others, for a company can never sell more than 
its freight allocation. The companies state that the careful 
arrangement of freight and its allocation are essential if gluts 
and shortages of chilled beef on the British market are to be 
avoided, though it should be noted that, even with this agree- 
ment, gluts and shortages not infrequently mark the trade 
through ships not keeping up to schedule, through bad weather, 
accident, or changes in demand. In spite of the agreement, 
considerable rivalry exists in practice between the two main 
sroups—the English and American companies—between which 
the trade is mainly divided.* 
The main difference between the Dominion and South 
American trades is, therefore, that the one must produce prac- 
tically all its goods for a market which is problematical, while 
‘he other has at least a continuous minimum demand. Moreover, 
while, in the Dominion trade, companies vary widely in their 
Functions, trading outlook and organisation, in the South American 
trade the type of company is practically uniform, namely, a 
trading organisation which owns works in the Argentine or 
Uruguay and, directly or indirectly, distributive stalls and depots 
in this country. 
Superficially, the Dominion trade looks unorganised, uncertain 
and haphazard, while, by comparison, the South American trade 
appears to be a well-made road along which supplies travel in 
orderly procession until they reach the retail distributor or, in 
the case of the enterprises associated with the Union Cold Storage 
Company, the consumer’s table. This orderliness does not, 
however, always obtain, for the prevision of the companies is 
limited by uncertainties. A delay of from, say, Thursday to 
Monday, through bad weather, or through breakdown at sea, 
may cause a shortage in one week and a surplus in the next. 
A heat-wave, or heavy arrivals of mutton, lamb or pork from 
other sources, may so curtail the demand for beef as to produce 
a surplus even though only normal quantities are being offered. 
Again, it is necessary to maintain works in continuous operation 
and to arrange that steamers, once chartered, are loaded to full 
capacity, or the meat will be marketed at a high cost. Unlike 
the Dominion trade, which pays freight only on actual meat 
shipped, the South American trade pays freight on the basis of 
shipping space chartered, so that unit-carrying charges for the 
trader are lowest when ships are filled to capacity. It frequently 
happens, therefore, that in order to keep down on-costs, meat 
is shipped in heavy quantities to a market which is known to be 
depressed. The problem which may, at times, confront the 
sompanies is to decide whether the loss incurred in selling large 
‘ Ranart of Roval Commission on Food Prices.” Cmd. 2390. 1925. 
YERDIA