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Hokitika Guardian, 15 September 1921, Page 2

At a meeting ut Last Taranaki dairy tanners nsently, the pruspvets for this season’s dairy produce were referred to by Mr A. *l. Sinclair, assistant manager of the New Zen land Co-oper-ative Daily Co., Ltd. lie said that iulluenros were at work on the flume market in connection with cheese, which it "as a little iliflieult to explain at the moment, but it should be remembered that efforts were frequently made at t lr,is time of the year to “bear" til,* market. Practically no forward sales were being made this seaon. biiyur4 having been severely hit by the experii'iiei' of last year. Any small sales that had taken place "ere mostly to lull'll orders and were not of a speculative nature. All indications pointed to a very satisfactory price for <iunsigned ~hi'i*se, and seventeen of the company's eiiei'si* factories, which had been separating milk during August for butter-making purposes, commenc'd the manufactlire ni cheese mi September 1. Mr Sinclair stated that the decision of the Imperial Government to reduce the price of New Zealand butt**r would have a very liemTu-inl elleet on tin* coming season’s butter output in New Zealand. Tbe Imperial Government had still between 20,000 and 30.000 tons of butter in store, and obviously they recognised that this would have a poor chance against tin* fresh season's make which would arrive in England from November onwards. Indication* pointed to this season’s I,utter realising, somewhere about 2s Id f.u.h., and in view of the decreased cost of production on the larni this season as compared with last, this must ’•'* considered a very satisfactory price. At the moment it was impossible to state whether cheese or butter would lie the bettor proposition this year.

Till*: improvement in trade that- coincided with th,. advent of spring weatlr'i is still a striking feature, says the Herald.’’ and very good rttturns are reported, especially in trade with the dairying districts. The sea soil has opened far hotter than was expected. both in prices and the probable output,, but at the moment of writing there is a decided need for rain, and a warm shower or two would make all the difference. Importers have very substantially curtailed their orders and stocks are now very rapidly getting into smaller compass. At the same time the buying power of the public seems to keep up well, and it looks as if importation will again have to he resumed on a heavier scale, as

several departments tire running ou

inch short stocks Unit they must lie nut before Christ Ulus. As the tutu I importations dill-ini' the first seven nonths of this yeifi- were almost identi•al in value with the amount during the •orresponding period of last year, it is interesting to note that foodstuffs limped by about a third, beverages by about (HI per cent, and soft goods by about d per cent. The chief increase naturally took place in hardware, about do per cent, but this was in general goods as one of the principal linen eorrugated iron, fell to about a third of last year's total. The assumption is that during the greatly curtailed >mportations of the last four months, and especially of the last two months, I lie deficiency has been made good by heavier drawings on goods in bond, and these of course, do not figure in the import returns.