Inquiry Into Butter And Cheese Reports

Chronicle (Levin), 8 December 1949, Page 9

Inquiry Into Butter And Cheese Reports

WELLINGTON Dee. 7. Mr William Marshall, ehairman of the New Zealand Dairy Produets Marketing Commission, stated today that the commission had requested its London director to make official inquiri.es in regard to the xeeently eabled statement that stores were choked with butter and eheese and that the trade was gravely disturbed regarding the deterioration of butter and cheese in the TJriited Kingdom. "The commission today received a reply to the effect that stoeks of butter and cheese in the United Kingdom are not in any way abnormal." he said. "They are no more than sufficient to provide a prudent cover for the current ration. "The position is that stores in the United Kingdom have been severely overtaxed for some time, prineipally with meat and allied produets, and 13 refrigerated vessels have been in qse for weeks as floating stores for meat because there was no space availabie ashore. Traders have complained during the late summer and autumn of the indifferent quality of some Gontinenjtal butter. For example they have complained of mould infeetion but there is no evidence of any trouble with New Zealand butter which has all been eold stored in the normal way. "In regard to cheese," added Mr Marshall, "the faets are that since the beginning of the war it has not been possible to provide cool air storage for more than a small proportion of stoeks of cheese which it is necessary to carry. Stoeks reaehed a high level in the late summer this year and during the prolonged hot weather some heating oeeurred but the total weight damaged is not large. Althought traders are put to considerable trouble in handling some deliveries, New Zealand dairy produce was affected less than other types of dairy produce and. the additional maturity of the cheese is a favourable feature from the conSumOr goodwill angle. Stoeks are now normal and the position remains that substan tial quantities of cheese will be required'from dollar sources to maintain the 2oz. ration next year." Mr Marshall s&id the effect of the present system on eonsumer goodwill for New Zealand produce was being carefully studied by the commission anu it was hoped to do something towards safeguarding the future but of necessity this was difficult under rationiug conditions. With reference to the reeent Press report which alleged that, with the consent of the United Kingdom Minister of Food, New Zealand butter had been diverted from Britain to Canada and that stoeks of New Zealand butter were being held in Canada, the London director of the eommission, after inquiry from the Ministry of Food, stated that the report was entirely without foun"*TT — .

dation, that iast season's purchases of imported butter were cleared promptly and Stoeks of butter currently held by the Canadian Government consisted entirely of domestic production.