Provisions Trade > Cork: Merchant Princes > Cork City & County Archives
was losing its dominance in the export butter market. One of the main problems was that the important British market did not require the highly salted butter exported from Cork. Butter producers on the continent, particularly Denmark, began to supply the more lightly salted butter preferred by the British consumer. Combined with a fall off in standards at the Cork Butter Exchange, a reluctance to move to more modern packaging and the development of butter substitutes, the Cork butter trade began to decline. The advent of refrigeration and changes in international trade all contributed to the problems and by the mid-1920s the Cork Butter Exchange had closed. The meat trade was another vitally important part of the provisions trade. Salted beef and pork were exported all over the world. As with butter, good packaging was essential to ensure its arrival in good condition. The skills of coopers and packers allowed the trade to expand from the 18th century. Cork was a major centre of meat production, so it was not surprising that it also developed many trades associated with by-products of that industry. In particular, there was an active export trade in cattle skins or hides and in tallow which was used to produce candles and soap.
The Exchange at Cork, 1815.
J.H. Gamble price list, c.1854.
Photograph of interior of Cork Butter Exchange, c.1900
Butter Inspection Slip, 1883.
Munster Dairies letterhead, 1903.
Butter Market Weigh House Return, 1847.
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