BUTTER AND CHEESE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3199, 25 September 1917, Page 8

BUTTER AND CHEESE

!' ; ' : -' ■' ' ■ ■-.■■ - I- -. ibr-;--; REVIEW OF LAST SEASON k NEXT SEASON'S PROSPECTS i ■ ■■■ " •'. ■ " ■ I :..'-•. A renew of the Australasian ■, dniry \ .'■ season,- dated July 25, has been issued 'fr ; ■ from the London office of the New Zea- .'. land Loaa and Mercantile Agency Co., |- ■■■-'■ ltd. It runs: — !■"■'>■..' General Remarks — Owing to abnormal r ■ conditions arising from the war, the j:-..-course of the market both for butter :;..-..;, and oheese during tho. period under re- ;■ ~ view_ was extremely erratic, whilst all ■' previous records as regards values were X "■■[■■■: exceeded. Supplies generally were muoh ■ ' . from Australasia being seriously delay- • .'\ ed owing to shortage of toniiage, while j'-:.-. ./.the loss at sea of numeiwis and : ;' ihe .action of - the 'Government: in" Tβ- ,:' quieitioning and subsequently controlling '•-.-..' '■'-. <iisposal were factors which from time c to time . caueed violent iluctuations in , ■.■".-■."• prices. The,. discharge % Admiralty (' orders of steamers originally ideatined for :. ■'.'.., .London at various outside ports, ■ morei oyer; caused delay, and trouble in the {.-'-: -disposal of consignments, whilst railway ( ■' facilities consequent tipon the enormous i; /demands made by the naval and mili- ;\. : '-tary'authoritiee upon rolling stock-being i :■ : much curtailed, operated' in like 'oirec- ;'•.•!■'•'." tion. The shortage in butter supplies ; ".'■'.. induced a large demand for margarine, f..; - which acted rts an incentive .to Home i '~''. manufacturers to increase the'output : '■ ■'■■'-• and to ( "invprove tho• qjuality. Supplies :•",.. "from the; Continent being much curtailed i.f:. -and largeVquaiitities "being taken by. the j':. ,Government,■ prices were forced up >o a t' : . • high level, whitet the, quantities r.'.V.v.- able for' civilian requirements-have of :-'. I- -.■late been;mucK reduced '■[J "'' season just terminated is /■:'■■'.■ .noteworthy for the high prices obtained [.'■.. \ ; in- this market for all 'descriptions.-K0t- •...'.. }'■ withstanding that there were no arrivals J'-.. , ; from' Eussia.'and'-Siberia, 'and. that 'sup- -'■-' •■'plies from..Erance and. Denmark,were i , .'. much reduced;, the market kept soaring

•>■;iip..until" at. tie, end/of February 22Cs. . "'.-was reached-for-New Zealand,- choicest ■ and' 218s. per.cwt. for Australian.' This •■/■ state of. .affairs 'was ' mainly brought about-by the difficulties experienced in ; connection with transport and labour, steamers being caller! upon'by order of the' Admiralty to take (m most cases) a. Ycircuifous'route to port of destination, -' .whilst shortage of labour, owing to the '. continued drain upon "man-power lor 'Amiy purposes, 6enously interfered with the-discharge of vessels on: arrival and '"delivery to warehouse. In consequence ■' : steamers being called upon by order of .: Teceived .until several weeks lifter arrival •of carrying stoamer, and owing to the depletion of available stocks ; prices were rapidly forced up. Subse- ;,' quentjy some eight Australasian steamL: ers were in dock together, and when, tteir cargoes began to come on the -niar■V iet prices took a downward turn. On April 17, however, tlie Ministry of Food . etepped in and commandeered the .cargoes of four steamers, vrhich materially steadied the position, tho removal of •oome 180,000. boxes from the market having a stimulating effect upon the de-' ■ roand. Uariy in March, the Food Controller took action by imposing maxi- -• mum pricrfs for all descriptions— Neve' 'Zealand, being fixed at 2245. and Austra- ; lian at- 1218s. per owt.—subject to ''ievision from time to time.-' The ■ - maximum prices were subsequently ae the eeason advanced) reduced, and the policy of the Food Controller being to 'keep down values of all" food commodities as much, as possible, any material' advance -upon the present rates is hardly .:■ to be looked for. There was a very marked, increase in the shipments from the Commonwealth, particularlj from-Queens--land—the quantities received from" that 1' State breaking all previous records. On '.. the other hand, from' New Zealand shipments were -upon a reduced scale, which - ■ is mainly attributable to the curtailed shipping facilities. The experience of the •past season has once more demonstrated that the results obtained by colonial ■■ factories, which shipped on, consignment, were much more favourable than in the case of those who were induced to sell . their outputs on the spot to speculators, -i Owing no doubt to the , Australian Government's action in retaining the choic- ..'-.' eat oj "fancy" butter for their own consumptive requirements, supplies of this yrade Teceived here "showed a niarked fall- . ing. 'off.; : While the inquiry was largely for this description, other first grades sold well at good prices, but there was a ■ jtfeponderance of inferior" qualities, the disposal of which at times proved difficult' The unsatisfactory condition of much of the. butter received was occasioned by its undue detention at port of shipment; The butter received from New Zealand, we are glad to say, was of excellent quality, and considering tho , lengthened voyage of'some of the carry- • -ing steamers, arrived 5 in* good condition. \ Cheese.—The market opened well •at high prices (9 Is. per cwt. for /first-grade New Zealand), and steadily advanced week by -week until 114s. per cwt. -was /reached. On arrival si tho s.s. Turakina r-; on December 27, the whole of the'con- - Bignments on board -were commandeered ■by the British Government, and all sub- ' sequent arrivals were dealt with in like manner. ; Negotiations also 'were opened ;-."' in the Dominion for factories' outputs, a - satisfactory agreement subsequently being arrived at. Small shipments of Australian cheese had been coming forward, bnt the shipments per s.s. Cumberland, .which arrived on January 12, and all subsequent consignments, were commandeered. We regret to report that the quality of New Zealand cheese was not" • generally fully maintained, this--doubt- ; less being due to tho unusually longtime ' occupied in transit from factory to Home ports, -which caused much of it to be .' heated and outof condition when received. Orving, 'however, to the short- : age of general supplies, buyers were less critical, than in ordinary times, and. in consequence better value* were "obtained 'than would have'been the case in normal market conditions. ■ "Prospects for next season.—Having re- ..." gardto'the extent of Government con,trol already exercised in the. case both ,'of butter and cheese, and to the possibility of further steps being taken in the same direction, no useful opinion can be formed as to the conrse of the market during the coming season, but at the moment, with available supplies of Australasian butter on the spot and near Vt hand in small compass, any depreciation In values in the near future, unless brought about ,by 'Government intervention, appears unlikely. '■ iThe scarcity in metals becoming more it is with difficulty that the orders for Victor Cheese Vats are beine executed. Mr. A. J. Parton, Sheet Metal Worker, Carterton, requests that orders should be forwarded to him early . as. present conditions demand that each order awaite its turn. Our advice is "get . in" early."—Advt. .1 A; 2500-acre farnfl is»c£fered for "6alc by Messrs. Grant and Campbell, Hawera. A concert win be given in the Sailors' Friend Society's Institute thie evenjr- by Mrs. J. 19*. Black ana party.