WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 27 April 1926, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

DAIRY PRODUCE PRICES,

(Special to “ Guardian.”)

WELLINGTON, April 23

Towards the week-end and almost invariably on a Friday, cable messages are despatched from loolcy Street to (inns in New Zealand giving the lowest and 'highest prices current during the week. It was noticed that the quotations cabled on 1' riday, Kith April, showed that there was some similarity'in the quotations received by the agents in New Zealand, hut the j Dairy Control Hoard’s prices were different —they were higher. Thus the message received by Dalgety and Co. gave the quotation for butter at 1725; the message received by Joseph Nathan and Co. made the price 172 s to 1735; the Rank of New Zealand’s message gave the price as H2s to ills; and the High Commissioner’s message also made the price 172 s to 171 s, hut the Dairy Control Hoard's message received from its London Agency gave the price as 17-1 s to 170 sor 2s more than [ any of the other quotations. It cannot! lie that the London Agency's quota- 1 tions wtre correct and the others wrong. The same tiling is shown in respect to cheese; the agents’ ines-i sage the prices as white fils and col- 1 ourod 955, hut the message received by' the Control Hoard gave the prices as , white 95s and coloured Otis. This dis-1 parity is rather noticeable, and makes , one suspicious of the Control Hoard s figures. Another feature in connection with the week’s quotations is the extremly small difference in the quotations for butter from the various countries. According to the High Commissioner’s quotations. New Zealand salted butler stood at 172 s to lots. Australia 170 s to 1745. and Danish at 17Ss to ISOs. The New Zealand and Alls-j tralinn quotations are practically the | same, which seems to indicate that the j quality of Australian butter has vastly j improved in the past two seasons. Last year then- was an occasion when j the Kangaroo lira ml was making more than New Zealand and Danish at 178 s j to Isi is is only a t ri lie above Australian J and New Zealand, and the low price of Danish is probably due to increased supplies. (lermany has recently increased the tariff on butter and so has Lite United States, and this has shut out Danish butter from these markets. The Danes are thus forced to market Ihe hulk of their weekly supplies in England, and the Danes avoid carrying over supplies. It is the drop in Danish flutter that is causing weakness in New Zealand and Australian. Siberian butter is now coming on the market in increasing quantities.

HOW QUOTATIONS ARE PCX ED. There is quite an elaborate system in vogue in Toofcy Street to secure the true prices obtained during the week for dairy produce. The London Provision Exchange previously known as the Home and Foreign Produce Exchange is the recognised governing body, and regulates the buying and selling of dairy produce in England. This must not. he confused with control,- it is merely that the exchange sees that the recognised regulations of the trade are observed. The membership of the exchange consists of wholesale and retail traders, merchants and commission agents, and the Exchange is controlled by a general committee.' This General Committee appoints a certain number of its members " Prices Committee” and it is the function of. Him Committee to secure and post up the week’s quotations. The Committee obtains from a certain number of liny- 1 in,g linns once every week a declaration in writing giving the lowest and highest quotations paid by them during tile week by the firm submitting the declaration. An equal number of sellers are also required to send in written declarations giving the lowest and highest prices at which they had sold. The Committee ,% eu compares the two sets of declarations, and if there are any irregularities or discrepancies, enquiries are instituted and adjustments made, for the aim of the Committee is to secure accuracy. When the Committee is Nidified that everything in connection with the quotations is correct the quotations are posted up on a ■big blackboard in the principal Chamber of the Exchange where it is available for inspection hv the members of the Exchange and the Press. It is these (imitations that are cabled to New Zealand and if they are copied correctly all reports should agree. The London Agency of the Control Hoard may have a system of its own.