DAIRY PRODUCE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2957, 21 December 1916, Page 8

DAIRY PRODUCE

SERIOUS CONGESTION IN TARANAKI. f . The congestion of clicoso and. butter in cold Btores all over tho country, i and ■ more especially in the Taranaki ; district, is rapidly becoming acute. •Butter can be held for a long time ' without very costly deterioration, and cheese can be held for a considerable ;• time in stores of.the proper temperature. Thero is enough freezing space for butter, but unless some buttor can be exported soon this satisfactory posi-" tion may not -long exist. Cheese is a bulky commodity, and it can bo stored with safety only in a cool, as distinct from a bold, store. Of those . stores; the; supply, is limited, and the risk of loss of part of the output is causing uneasiness. Mr. Okey, M.P., interviewed the Minister of Commerce • on the matter yesterday, and Mr. Mac- ! Donald has agreed to cablo Mr. Massey regarding the urgent necessity of petting more insulated ship space for dairy produce. A most troublesome phase of the ; present dangerous state) of things is ;<■ the difficulty of finance. At tho beginning of tho season factories paid out to suppliers Is. 4d. per pound but-ter-fat, , a price which left a safo ; and substantial margin. Farmers expected to draw considerable sums at the end of the season over and above ; the Is. 4d. rate. ■ Factories in Tara- . tfaki are not paying Is. 4d. now. Tho rato was reduced' to Is. 2d., in some car : cs the payment is at the rate of '■ only Is.,- and the banks have suggested to certain factories that it would be wise to cut the payments down to lOd. One of the other requests that Mr. Okey made to the Minister was that the Government should accept in payment of tho fd. levy under the butter price scheme,' promissory notes, bearing no interest, and payable when tho V jratter or cheese'is shipped or sold. CABLECRAM TO MR. MASSEY. - : "POSITION EXTREMELY SERIr OTJS." By Telegraph—Press Association. Dunedin, December 20. Mr. Lamb,. .secretary of tho South Island Dairy Association, sent the fol- ., lowing cablegram, .to Mr. Massey to- . (day: l —"Dairy factories blocked cheeso 'and butter. 'No- 'shipping. Unless :" ifinance provided must shut down. Posi- ; h x ! tion extremely serious." ' Tln-tn-ilatft Cheese Fnctorv Managers