Report on the trade in refrigerated beef, mutton and lamb

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1800540760

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-185131

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report on the trade in refrigerated beef, mutton and lamb

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stat. Off.

Year of publication:: 1925

Scope:: vi, 65 Seiten; Ill., graph. Darst.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter V. The trade in Great Britain

Collection:: Economics Books

2 crade, though risky enough, is not so uncertain as the chilled oeef trade, as the article is less perishable. If a jobber over- estimates his requirements, particularly of chilled beef, in the early morning, he may find it necessary to reduce his prices in order to clear. He always aims at having no unsold meat on his stall when the market closes at 1 o’clock, as meat left hanging has to compete on the following day with supplies brought fresh trom the ship or cold store and, unless a shortage develops and vrices stiffen, he may not be able to obtain a bid for his day-old eat. It is this element of perishableness, coupled with the regularity of arrivals, which makes the business of selling chilled beef so dangerous. Moreover, demand is anything but a stable factor and its changes can rarely be foreseen. Cheap mutton, a plentiful supply of cheap pork, a sudden change in the weather— any of these may lessen the demand for beef and cause its value to drop pence per lb. in the course of a single market. As soon 2s demand weakens, there is eager selling to avoid ¢ carry-over.” \[ost salesmen also know to their cost that it is bad selling policy to have a carry-over even in frozen mutton and lamb. The fundamental difference between the chilled and frozen trade is, however, that chilled beef must be disposed of on the day of ¢ pitching,” whereas frozen goods can be held in cold stores in and around the market, so that if a jobber under-estimates his requirements he can draw a further supply from a neighbouring store without delay. If necessary, also, he can re-deposit ansaleable frozen goods in store, though this reacts unfavourably on the appearance and, therefore, on the price of the meat roncerned. So far, only the stall-holding activities of the market have seen described, i.e., sales by stall-holders to the retailers and others who buy meat for immediate consumption. Viewed from this standpoint, Smithfield is merely a wholesale meat market resembling the wholesale meat markets in other parts of the sountry, and differing from them only as regards its size and in the higher proportion of imported to home supplies sold. Imithfield is, however, much more than a wholesale market; it also functions as an exchange where the merchandise sold is mainly titular, 7.e., drafts on goods lying in cold store, on ships in the docks or at sea, the transactions being limited to ex-store, ex-ship and c.if. dealings in frozen supplies. Engaged in this extra-market trade are specialist merchants, and it is not difficult to see how they have evolved and why they have made their home in and around the market area. When imported meats first appeared on the market, they were consigned to selected stall-holders for sale. Later, as the quantities coming forward increased beyond the power of any one stall to sell, it became necessary to spread supplies over as many stall-holders as possible. This was done, in some cases, by integration; on the one hand, a number of companies owning freezing works. including most of the American companies,

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