LODON BUTTER PRICES.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 29, 18 February 1937, Page 4

LODON BUTTER PRICES.

TJiere cannot but be a good deal oi uileaBiness felt at tbe receiit treiid of London market prices for the New ^ehland butter which provides such a substantial part of our natibnal income. JFor iluctuatioiis in market values, sometimes almost iiiexplicable, We have, of eourse, always to be prepared, btit in the present instance there are iiew features that eall for speoial attention. The first of these shows itself in the relative prices realised for New Zealhnd butter and for Australian and Continental. Until qiiite recent months prices for the Dominion prodiict invariably showed a considerable mafgiii over thoSe for Austrhliaii and a very s' bstiWtiiH margin ovei; those for all European except Danish. V/ithin the last twelvemonth these gaps have beeh closing until late quotations shdw New Zealand abottt on a par With Australian, while Pplish ia actually bringing some 2 /- or 3/- a cwt. more than either. We here have hitherto prided ourselves on the fact that the superior quality of New Zealand butter was so Well estabi lished as to command a strong preference over Australian and very mueh stroiiger over that from the Baltic coiintries. it is generaliy admitted that the quality of the Australian output fdf export Rai been gradually improvihg, but it may be doubted whether the improvement has reached a point where it may bave made Australian equailfy acceptable to consuiners with New Zealand; The same may be even more confidently said With regard to Eastern European. ThuSj apart altogether from the low prices ruling generaliy, there is good reason for asking why New Zealand butter would seem to have lost its price plaee atndng British imports. The answer* we are as- . . sured, is not to be f ound in any slip back in the quality of our own exports. Wher|, then, lieS the explanation? Fpr this, with the Minister of Marketing on the spot in London, we should be able to look to our own Government, which has assumed excluiive control' of the oversea marketing of alll our dairy produce. That the reason should be ascertaihed Und made known goes withbut sayihg, biit so far at any rate the Government has mainfcained complete silence. It may, of course, be said that for the producers,, receiving from the Treasury their unffdrm ' 'guarShteed price/' London prices are a matter of no great moinent. Stillj With ah eye to tfie futiire, thiy cahhot but be a good deal disquieted at this queer turn in what is practieall^ their ohly, market. It ha§ hitherto been customary for us to cdmmiserate only with tHe dairymen over drops in the value 6f their Gk± ports. Even then this viras quite Wrong, since the geherail prosperity of the countr^ depends vei?y largel^ dh remuhfetSr tive realisatioii oit our ekport prodiicts. But ribw inofe tMtt ever are the people of thfe country cbncerned. It is ihey #ho, as taxpayers, will eventhally have to staiid any losses the Government ihay incur tKrough the yeacly dverage of Londoii pribes falling below tfie ^uaranteed price. Pdr this the first year of its great speculative venture it seems pretty well assured that the loss will befrby no means negligible. Indeed, under current conditions, in all likelihood it will be serious, dfeBpite aiiy juggling with the rate bf interfest payable On its £6-miIlion: workihg overdraft with the Reserve Bank. It is, of course, eonsoling for tis to know that* no matter what happens to the London market, the dairy mad will get his gttarahteed price* and probdbly just hoW no 6ne will begrudgb it. But, at the same time* this gratification Cahnot but be a littie bit tinged with regtet that it is iiito otdr own pockets that we have to put tiut hands tb make it up for him. There are thus gddd reaSohs jvhy, bdth from the dairymen 's aitd the taxpayerB' |foidti of view, some explanation should be forthcoming as to why* under Sta.te eoritrdl df its marketing, New Zeaiand butter sefeihs to be losing favoixr among Britisih consumers. Is it poSsible that, despite our Government^ assurances to the contrary, its methods are proving . uhacceptable to distribiitors at the other end ?