THE BOOM IN BUTTER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 765, 14 March 1910, Page 8

THE BOOM IN BUTTER.

'. ■ ■ UtfSfcY. CONSIGNOKS. .. ■' " "The market is cleared. Importers are asking 1305. for- Corinthic's shipment', which is ■ due on- Monday"—so rim .a butter-markeT'cablegraiii.. in Saturday's Dominion, which will gladden, the hearts of dairy-farmers throughout 'New Zealand. Fortune is smiling on the dairy farmer this year.' ■■ Ho has-had a wonderful season, so'far as weather conditions have .teen, concerned;, record outputs have been chronicled all over the country; and now he is promised a price higher than.has!been offered for the corresponding week in any year since the " trade began. : ' Once, in February, 1008, New Zealand butter fluttered up to 1505.' for a shipment' arriving on the 15th:' ofrthat mouth, portions of which brought 'even >°>, much as 1525.; but before the ri'extvsleamer arrived prices had conie' down with" a thud.to 1225., and in March .'-of that, year they never rose above 1235. or 1245. The course of prices for/choicest ;New Zealand during March of the last three' years' has run as follows:— ■ '' /.-■ ■■ ■,'••- 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. March .12 ' . ; ......r. "mi." 118s. 106s. 128s. Marck,.lo_; 100s'. 113s. . 1065.,'■- -:'■•■ March 26"• ........ 101s. Ills. 103s. '.•-, April .4 ..:...... . 995. Ills. 98s. :— The good fortune "which has now befallen the producers will be fully grasped when it is realised'that something like two-thirds-of the-46,524 boxes oY. New.Zealand butter, which, the. Coriritbic will be.landing in London to-day is; on consignment. .'Last year the British'importers who bought 'up. the outputs of. the dairy factories burned their fingers: badlji. ; 'inVmost**cases ! f'^wiilv..-.the j result that few..of do bust-' ness this. year. ,Tho bulk of~our butter : now -goilig..„fn?.w"ard cither,, on' open or gnfir." ,producers therefore stand '-to', reap a 'much'fuller share"of. the"vboom•'prices than .• would have been, the case in most of the'preceding season's! Between 150 and 200 fac : tories have' consignments .'on'; the Corinthic, the^different. -ports contributing as follows':^;.':!.;>*??<.■£ v.Kv.'iS : - Auckland-v> J-iiift.w£'»-;»TdS.SO9 boxes '■■ j;:;N.ewX'Plym'outb,T.',Cv.."" % .'t-~ifv ; ri.4os „ : Lrvpatea ' ■ ■ „ .-■: ■ Wellington. <....'...'. , .;:-...:..':'.-:ii,i2i. „ Lyttelton ...'..:.;.. , ......d.;T3,539- ~. ,: Total.;-.... L1£v,.;'.. ....;.. 46,524 boxes The largest''parcels sent 'frbriv.iAYallington- and Taranaki •are? those from the .Hawke.'s,Bay Dairy;.Ggmpany;, the - New Zealand Dairy TJnio'iv and' the Ballance, Stratfwd,.^ltham., B MidJ)jc, , it w ,andMai]gawhds?''cV(i?igninents range inSsi7.es.from iOM'.toibyerl S2OOO . boxes: apiece, j J, : • ;..:,„ :-, , v . .On Saturday;morning:the;-views of the situation taken by' a"miriihef of the leading expqrters-'in ■-Wellington were obtained by, a,.: Dominiok representative. With' one exception"these* gentlemen were of opinion that the- advance-in price was "dne""alriiost i "entirel3 , '-.'fb'''a 'shortage' in British'\:ano^.:(3onrinen'ta;{QS]rpglies.. There has been no shortage in either Australian, or New' , ,Ze'ala"M''biitteTr'.' The 'posi-tion-;is';-iii' fact very much'the otherway, '.Messrs, 'JK B. • HaSEwa'n',and "Company's' market Saturday, .for instance,'.shows a"''total' shipment of but'tervfr6m',:;A,e.w.::Zealand ffiom September 1...1a5t, to; date of' tons,' as against •lli820.„. tons for , the»/corresponding period :ofdast season„.an less th'an 18 per cent.. Thb»Außtra!ian: butter ship~mentSv:Up.:...to J .theTenfl; of Eobruary, ac-' cording to...the.;sa.'me\"filmV'a'dyices, tptal .23,000 • tons, -of .10,000 tons over,;last:;;seSsjon.■'. Fully halfbf ; this extraordinary increase Vic•toria. -It-is.-ihus..obvious,.that .the' in. S e .^ i n ;,Pji<tg tl «P?nd f s..on,,9 i ther factors than -a 'shortage' ■ofrtcolonialc.vsUppliea •' - | .:There v .j?,.,alwa,v's.„a' fly. jn the : ointment. -As tte-crnsty-*flld •EngHsh'?'farmer said when he;.harvested in his. record wheat • c r o PK:yt"'3wsternble';;Keaj:i)v,«: on: the ground.,., bo:. in .this caw" the drawback to the'bigvprices'.-is-that "thev give margarine people an, excellent, opportunity of-.pusbing-their-,-goods. Margarine will now be selling.where butter .went' beftre/ytThat-was what happened during.',the.booni.Jof,l9oß,,and, temporary as^it,.was;-that,vshort':,'pe'ridd.lof; high prices enabled the', margarine manufacturers to.establish.connections that thev nave maintained ever since. As a le-id'-J?J ■.exporter. Remarked :on Saturday-; Periods of excessively high prices, despite the temporary gain,'arc really.bad r for. i US;.in..t.hev;ipng ; ;riin..-. We- have .lost by. thenr.before;.'and J "we. will 'l'ose'aga'in.'V i\o doubt the ordinary producer will comfort himself vith "the. reflection that pleasant indeed is it to lose thus