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

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter V. The trade in Great Britain

Collection:: Economics Books

7. of immediate control. The trade being there, chances of ready sale are greater and a shipment coming to London has first the opportunities, without additional expense, of that market, and, failing a good market, can be conveniently railed to any other centre. Moreover, it is nearly always possible to obtain London freight in the producing-centre, whereas goods may have to wait some time for a steamer that is calling at other ports. Again, many importing firms are not represented in the outports and are therefore reluctant to ship to any other port than London anless they are able to sell their goods c.i.f., or unless there appears to be good prospect of a sale before the goods arrive, for when the goods are once landed, it is difficult for such firms to arrange the ordinary ex-store selling without incurring the expense of appointing an agent for the purpose. Reference has already been made to the fact that the fluidity of distribution of meat supplies in this country is such that supply and demand can be rapidly equated and prices main- tained at a fairly uniform level. Whilst this is so, it is frequently alleged that, since all the importers on a provincial market have asually the same price for similar goods, these are fixed for the whole country by consultation among importers in London. It is evident, however, from the structure of the trade, and apart from any understandings, that the tendency to uniformity of prices follows naturally from concentration of control in one centre. Though Smithfield is not an ordinary produce exchange, yet, by the continuous movement of buyers and sellers, prices soon become level in that market; each firm with provincial oranches is in continual touch by telephone with them and, except for such movements as are purely local and transitory, country prices must tend to be stabilised somewhere around Smithfield prices. Moreover, the provincial managers look to London for their information and guidance, and both will be given under the influence of Smithfield. Since meat is a highly perishable article, there are, of course, limits to control from the centre, and a reasonable degree of initiative must be left to local managers who have to adapt their selling to the peculiar circumstances of their own locality, but this merely means that control is resilient and not that it is unreal and ineffective. (d) Cold Storage—Cold stores are the reservoirs of imported meat; they form an integral part of the distributive system and enable supplies to be roughly equated to demand. Never- theless, large quantities of imported meat reach the consumer without passing through a cold store at all, for practically all the chilled and much of the frozen passes direct ex-ship to market-stalls, depots, and even retailers’ shops.* Distribution ex-ship is the ideal, for not only are the charges and extra handling avoided which are incidental to storage. but the meat * Less than one-third of the meat which comes into London is cold- stored. (* Revort of Roval Commission on Food Prices.’ paracravh 263. )

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