MEATS AND DAIRY PRODUCTS.1 The British are heavy meat eaters and depend for a large part of their supply upon importations. The extent of the trade in meats and meat fats for the years 1912-1918 is shown in the following table: Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. 1 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom. 2 Lard and oleomargarine only are included in these figures. There is a large trade in other animal fats and oils. The imports of unrefined tallow, for example, totaled 2,039,352 hundred weights in 1912, while exports amounted to 1,561,382 hundredweights. In 1917 the corresponding figures were 610,299 and 831,030 hundredweights, respectively. Imports of "animal oil" fell from 206,659 hundredweights in 1913 to 27,353 in 1917. The net imports of fish oil (54,000 tuns in 1912) have been a little more than maintained during the war. According to the above data, both gross and net importations of meats have been maintained surprisingly well. The total net importation for 1918 is larger than the corresponding figure for any other year shown. There are some interesting changes in individual items. The trade in cured meats (bacon and hams) has increased from 5,531,000 hundredweights in 1912 to 12,031,000 hundredweights in 1918. This development might naturally be expected because of the need for cured meats in supplying the armies. There has been a sharp decline in the imports of mutton to about 50 per cent of the pre-war level in 1917. The figures for preserved meats show an increase in imports during the war of over 100 per cent. There are several fairly important meat items that are not included in the data in the above table. The United Kingdom imports about 500,000 hundredweights of rabbits each year, and the poultry item 1 Data for animal fats and sea foods are also included in this section. For production figures of meats and dairy products, see table at end of chapter. amounted to about a million. pounds sterling in 1913, and £750,000 in 1917. An import of about 65,000 head of cattle, sheep, and hogs intended for food is reported in 1912. The trade statistics give no imports whatever of living animals for food purposes since 1914. The following table shows in summary form the consumption of imported meats and meat fats for the years 1912-1918: CONSUMPTION OF IMPORTED MEATS AND MEAT FATS. Domestic production should, of course, be taken into account in determining the amounts of meats and edible animal fats available for consumption. It is exceedingly difficult, however, to estimate accurately the production of these commodities, and no reliable recent production figures are available for the United Kingdom.1 By applying more or less arbitrary slaughter percentages and dressed weight figures to official censuses of live stock for the various years a fairly constant rate of production is the result, since these censuses show no noticeable changes in total herds. In 1912 the official returns give cattle herds at about 12,000,000 head, sheep at 29,000,000, and hogs at 4,000,000.2 Very slight variations from these figures are shown by the censuses of later years. To estimate production on the basis of these data, accordingly, gives results of little significance in determining the current meat situation of the United Kingdom. There has been a rather serious fodder shortage, which would indicate lighter cattle, and accordingly some decrease in production on that score. The London Times in the issue of October 30, 1918, prints an article which predicts a serious meat shortage during the first six months of 1919 because of inadequate domestic production. While there may be such a temporary shortage, it should be pointed out that conditions can soon be expected to change. The fodder situation should improve as the tonnage question becomes less acute, and since the herds have been maintained this will mean a return to a normal rate of production. 1 A report received in July, 1918, gives the numbers of live stock slaughtered in Great Britain during the first four months of the years 1917 and 1918 as follows: These figures indicate sharp declines in domestic production for the periods covered. *Statistical Abstract of the United Kingdom. The following table shows the distribution of imports of several of the principal meat items according to countries of origin: IMPORTS OF CERTAIN MEAT ITEMS, BY LEADING COUNTRIES.1 1 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom. As in the case of cereals, the exports of meats from the United States to Great Britain show some important increases. In the case of bacon, for example, imports from the United States totaled 1,700,000 hundredweights in 1912, 3,500,000 in 1917, and over 8,000,000 hundredweights (83 per cent of the total) in 1918. Imports of bacon from Denmark have decreased to a negligible amount in 1918. The receipts of beef from Argentina have decreased from 6,600,000 hundredweights in 1912 to 2,600,000 in 1917. This decline has not been compensated by corresponding increases from other countries. The exports of meat, both prior to the war and during the war, have been very small. In view of the amounts involved, there have been no developments in the direction of this export trade which are of importance. The fisheries of the United Kingdom are an important source of food production. The total catch of all kinds of sea foods in a normal pre-war year amounted to about 23,000,000 hundredweights.1 Due particularly to the activities of the submarines, this figure has been cut down to 8,200,000 hundredweights in 1915, about one-third of the normal production. For the years 1917 and 1918 only incomplete returns are available. The Import trade in sea foods has increased considerably, and exports have fallen off. Before the war the United Kingdom exported a net item of about £4,000,000 of fish and allied products. Of the gross exports in 1913 about £3,000,000 went to Germany and £2,000,000 to Russia. This trade has disappeared. In 1917 the figures show a net importation of £7,500,000, and in 1918 net imports of sea foods totaled over £16,000,000. Quantities have not increased correspondingly, due to the higher prices involved. The trade in fresh fish has fallen off very sharply, while the imports of canned and cured sea foods have increased to several times the pre-war level. The imports of canned salmon in 1912 amounted to 355,000 hundredweights, in 1916 to 1,400,000, and in 1917 fell to 650,000 hundredweights. The United States, 1 Statistical Abstract of the United Kingdom. Portugal, and Canada are important exporters of canned fish to the United Kingdom. The salmon received from the United States in 1913 had a value of about £700,000, and in 1917, £1,450,000. The increase in quantity was about 30 per cent. The trade in dairy products for the years 1912-1918 is shown in the following table: IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF DAIRY PRODUCTS.1 (Hundredweights, 000 omitted.) Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. 1 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom. A noticeable change in this trade is the decline in the importation of butter in 1917 to less than half the pre-war level. Another sharp decline is shown in the figures for eggs; imports in 1917 totaled about 25 per cent of the imports for 1912, and in 1918 a still further decline is recorded. On the other hand, the figures for cheese and milk show increases during the war period. By combining the figures in the above table (exclusive of eggs) it can be shown that the net imports of these dairy products were maintained in 1914, were increased in 1915, and fell to about 90 per cent of the normal in 1916-1918. It is probable that the domestic production of dairy products has fallen off during the war, but no figures are available to indicate even approximately the extent of the change. In 1913, 41 per cent of the butter imports came from Denmark, and about 34 per cent in 1917. Canada is the great exporter of cheese to the United Kingdom. Over 54 per cent of the condensed milk now comes from the United States. Before the war eggs were received largely from Russia, and by 1917 this trade had practically ceased. SUGARS.1 The United Kingdom depends entirely upon other countries for its supplies of raw sugar. The climate is not at all suited to the production of cane sugar, and the beet-sugar industry has not been developed. The trade in sugars and molasses for the years 1912 to 1918 is shown in the following table: 1 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom. It is evident from the above figures that there has been a very considerable decline in the sugar trade during the war. The situation as regards net imports (and consumption) may be summed up as follows: It appears from the above table that the amount of sugars available for consumption has declined 27 per cent in 1917, for example, as compared with the net amount available in 1913. This scarcity of sugar has led to the adoption of price-fixing and rationing policies by the British Government, and it is probable that the shortage of supplies available for the civilian population has been more acute in connection with this commodity than with any other important foodstuff. 1 This section includes data for molasses, glucose, and invert sugars. |