DAIRY PRODUCE TRADE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2610, 4 November 1915, Page 4

DAIRY PRODUCE TRADE

WEDDEL'S REVIEW MARKETS AFFECTED BY WAR Messrs. W. "Weddol and Co., of London, in their review of the dairy produce" trade for the year ended June 30, 1915, state that Severn unusual and interesting features stand out with great prominence. Conspicuous among these is • the enormous decrease in tH©_ total import of butfer, which ? 190,390 tons, against 213,434 tons in 1914. reduction of 23,044 tons, or 10.8 pea* cent, in one year, is th<* greatest on record; and. the total was *u,4GO tons below the year 1911, when arrivals reached their manmiuni of 222,790 tons. The imports of butter into the United Kingdom Wl3 tho smallest for the past thirteen years. As a direct effect of this, the aver-, age of priccs realised for all varieties was unprecedcntedly high. The Tangc in quouitione for tho past twelve months was also abnormal, extending from 102s. per. cwt. in July, 1914, up to 158s. in May, 1915, with rapid fluctuations month by month, what is also peculiar about the high price of butter is that it was not confined to the markets in the United Kingdom, but jyas found throughout Europe, in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and, to some extent, in tho United States and CanMa .

• the substantial increase of 12,425 tons in the import of cheesechiefly from -the United States of Ame« rica—prices have advanced even more markedly than in the case of butter, showing that though interruptions in ehipping were just as prevalent, there was a. greater worlds output of oheeso than in the pre? ceding year, and that thero were amplo' outlet© for it all.

Effect on Siberian .Butter, With the shipping ports in tlie Baitia faea, closed by the German Fleet, the BlacJ boa, sealed by tho Darddndlea. and hei only northonr ports of shipment, .Archangel, closed by ice during the • wintei months, it is only surprising that supplied /^issiai were not reduced to a .greatei extent. A Canadian ice-breaker kept the port of Archangel open successfully for some months longer than usual; and, bufc tor an > unfortunate accident to this vessel "which led. u> the port being suddenly frozen up, it is possible "tnat Siberian butter would have continued to arrive all through the winter. Before tho -war, Siberia regularly supplied German markets with many thousand tons every year. Begarding Prance, a .very different 6tate of affairs existed, French butter shipped to England showed an increase of 6323 tone (55 per cent), over the previous year, and the price of Frcnch buttor was, during he greater part of the year, relatively lower, than . any other variety on the market. This may be accounted for' by tho fact that,'.before the war, France had supplied' a' considerable amount of butter to countries other than the United Kingdom—to Belgium,- and probably to Germany itself— while sine© the outbreak of wit tho reduced population in.her north-eastern pro. vinces were unable to-draw any 6uuplies from. the .main sources of production in .western France. The British market thus became almost the only outlet for the sun pxu9 produce of Iformendy and Brittany*

New Zealand Butter. ' Befcfring to New Zealand, butter, tho Review states that New Zealand button ,sj®wd considerable improvement oil round, > 'nsiunesfi being practically, unknown, •which lends .to support the theory thai this serious defect is epidemic, in character, having for its cause climatc'conditions specially: favourable to the 'increase of micro-organisms; for it is difficult to' bo id . butter-makers generally are znoro Inefficient In. one year than in another. Instances of inexpert butter-making, however, did occur, and odd caEes were reported during the past season ot excessiTO moisture being found. This cannot bo charged to micro-organisms. Where excess of moisture is found to persist, the only remedy 16 lo employ another buttor-maker, for no greater danger to tho prestige of New Zealand butter can be conceived, and it ought to bo drastically dealt -with. •

Now Zealand Cheese. JTow Zealand cheeso has recovered favour this season, states tho Review, and this is mainly duo to the general freedom from tho ill flavours which prevailed last ecasou, thereby bringing about a more regular standard of quality. The looseness of texture hq.s also diminished, but '« still too common; tho prevalence of cracks which develop when a cheese is out chows that, the make is not yet perfect. Tho genuino cheddar type requires a close texture, free from holes or cracks. This character has become established in Canadian cheeso, and there is no reason •why New. Zealand cheese-makers should not be oble to attain the same standard. If this looseness along with, the cracks wore ovcrcoma New Zealand cheeso .would bring higher prices. There are other improvements desirablo connected with the shipping rathtP than with the make. For instance, it tho cheeso could go into 6tore to cool down for a short time before shipment, much ot tho damage now caused by heating, would bo prevented. Again, the use o£ sealo boards should bo made compukory, as they have proved to bo a great preventive of Injury caused by the cheeso sticking to the ccntre board on tho voyaje, Margarine. The Jlevlew deals with margarine oe follow It would naturally be expected that tho excessively high prices of butter would be extremely favourable to tho margarine industry, and certainly a very greatly increased consumption has occurred during the past season. The profits of the trade havo not. however, corresponded with tho increased amount sold. There are now tfwo dfstinct kinds of margarino on our, markets; that in whioh animal fate form! the base, and known as oleo margarine; and tho vegetabld variety, of which cocoanut oil is the principal ingredient, sold agnut butter. As all animal fats have increased in price proportionate to butter, oleo margarine has had to be steadily ad*' vanced until tho best quality retails at' lOd. to Is. per lb.—e rise which has some--what curtailed tho demand. The price of. vegetable margarine on the other hand! has been kept by the keen competition of manufacturers at one level ever since wop broke out viz., yxpenca pet lb., with the, result that only a small margin'of profit is obtainable. Pure butter meets with nodircct competition from this source, but llko many other commodities 6uoh as meat, • fr.uit, cheose, etc., cells at prices varying moro or less according to quality, and tho 1 past season ■ has incidentally proved that. thero aro enough consumers of best butter, in this country to pay for about'2so,CCo ton* a year (including the Homo product) <it th# highest prices on record.