BUTTER SHORTAGE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1392, 19 March 1912, Page 8

BUTTER SHORTAGE.

CURIOUS POSITION' IX ENGLAND. Writing under dnto of January 21, in reference to (he butler market, the London correspondent of tho Christchureh "l'ress" says the market is in an interesting state. Wholesale prices, by reason <it last summer's drought, have reached a record, and yet strange to say the retailers are not. charging more to tho public. In somo quarters llie fear is expressed that concprtod action is being taken io hold up tho siipplios from the world's dairies, but this is emphatically denied by the. largo importing linn?. A seui-.ir partner in an important company declared:—•'lt is absolutely incorrect to suggest that we are cornering the supply. It a movement ct that kiud who atoot, 1 could not fail lo bear of it; and 1 am prepared to stake my business reputation -on tho assertion that tho present shorlago is wholly traceable to economic causes, l-'irst of all tho record Continental drought, of year, coupled with the ravages of I ho fnot-und-moutn disease, reduced the supplies very seriously, ami prevented the accumulation of butter in the cold stores to .strengthen tho winter supply. And in addilion to this there was a great diminutiou in tho Australian shipment at the beginning of the season. Three weeks ago we had an official telegram from Melbourne stating that the shortage in shipments up to that date was 3001) tons compared with tho corresponding three months of last year. During the first sixteen days of Inst February, again, wo drew upon Australia to the extent of 105,000 boxes of butter; but this February we shall not get more than 110,000 boxes. From this source alone, therefore, the supply has shrunk by 33 per cent. This is why people are beginning to buy a littlo butter; they want something in and to tide them over the ascertained shortage in tho Australian supply. "I should say no one in their senses would endeavour to hold up the available butter when prices are about 30 per cent, above tho normal. If there had been any manipulation of this kind, surely now would bo tho moment to let the butter go. Tho fact of the matter is thero is no butter to 'corner,' ami there is not likely to bi« much reduction in price until tho middle of Hay, when the Continental supplies will conio along. .11, however, Siberia opens up earlier, we may experience somo relief in April. At present the shortage in supply is universal." Tho "Westminster Gazette" interviewed a geueral provision dealer in North London, who said:—"l am quite convinced that cither the importers or the big trading companies are unduly withholding tho butter supplies. Of course, we all havo to buy a. litllp in advance of our reqvirements, but the quantities in the cold stores at this moment, unless a good many of us are strangely misinformed, cannot be explained in this simple fashion. To small dealers, like myseif, the mischief of tho matter is that we cannot pass the rise on to tho consumer, for fear of losing his custom altogether. I am buying Australian and Mew Zealand butter, which only gives me a margin of Id. per Ib., and I know retailers who aro actually losing upon their butter trade. This kind of trading may be profitable to tho big stores, but it spells disaster to tho small trader. And how can wo put up (lie prices while the stores keep them down? Most of our butter, of course, is now coming from Australia and New Zealand, and it is around this supply that the speculative movement is taking place. It is probably true that thero is a genuine world's shortage, but it is equally true that the supply at the disposal of the retailers is sunicient to steady prices and prevent anything in tho nature of a ring or 'corner' with its attendant famine prices. Most of us have our butter assured at fairly easy prices for the next three months, and after that it should be plain sailing for tho trade generally." A small dealer in tiouth-Last London writes to the papers to say that tho present high price is due to a corner. "Whole consignments are bought up by big combines before leaving Australia or New Zealand, and never get a chance of seeing tho market. The same applies to cheese."