Report on the trade in refrigerated beef, mutton and lamb

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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 VI. Combinations in the meat industry

Collection:: Economics Books

’ As regards supplies at the source, there is, in the nature of things, very little active participation by any of the large com- panies. They may, it is true, own ranches, but the business of farming does not readily lend itself to large-scale management, Nor is there much inducement, under ordinary circumstances, for a meat company to go into the cattle-rearing business, as the ownership of the works, in a country such as South America, may be said to be, of itself, the key position. In Australia and New Zealand, this is not the case, as not only are there many more works, but there is a strong body of public opinion opposed to the expansion of big business in the pastoral domain. More- over, combinations in this field would appear to be coming from the producers themselves; the formation of a Meat Producers’ Board in New Zealand and of a Meat Council in Australia have already been noted; in the Argentine, the producers have, for some time, been endeavouring to follow suit, but so far with little practical result. With regard to the control of freezing works and of wholesale merchanting, it has already been noted that the principal com- panies in the South American trade are very powerful and prac- tically command the outlet for Argentine cattle. Although several of these companies meet each week to arrange freight which is allocated by agreement,* they stoutly deny that the prices to be offered for cattle, or the price to be charged in European markets, are agreed or even discussed among them. Owing to its perishable nature, it would certainly be a most difficult task to fix prices for chilled beef in this country unless arrivals were also controlled, and in view of the occasional gluts of chilled meat it is difficult to believe that this is sytematically done. Agreement as to buying prices for cattle would, of course, sensibly weaken the position of the producer overseas. With regard to distribution in this country, the strength of the South American companies depends very largely on the elaborate and extremely efficient system of distribution which they have built up. Though, with the exception of the Union Cold Storage Company, which is an English concern, the companies operating in South America do not own retail shops, they have their own wholesale depots in each important centre of population and, through these, control the wholesaling of chilled beef. But even in this department, evidences of agreed policy are difficult to detect, as each local manager is keen for business and the necessity for prompt disposal imposes its own limitations on price agreements. Complaint seems to come in the main from traders who find the competition of the South American com- panies difficult to meet. Certainly, the amalgamation of interests into large-scale trading units should conduce to more efficient processing and distribution, smaller overhead charges and less waste. All that can be said is that, if a working agreement does or were to exist among the South American companies as to k Gee. however. footnote. Dace 26

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