Butter.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 17 February 1891, Page 3

Butter.

. » City brokers acknowledge (writes the London corro pondent of the Argus) marked and sustained improvement in the quality of the butter shipments from Australia and New Zealand. They say, at the same time, that finality in the matter of improvement has not beenreacbed. In the oase of isolated samples of which they complain they declare that the quality is variable, and that there is a want of uniformity in grading. The complaint of one importer may furnish a useful illustration. He states that in a shipment to him the butter at the top of the keg was of first quality. At the bottom of the keg it was discoloured, rancid, and the product of a former year's production in the dairy. Purchasers; as a consequence insist upon baring every keg and every package sampled, and a single unsatisfactory package in a shipment is now sufficient to reduce the selling price of the whole. The Melbourne and the Sydney butters are admitted to be equal to the best Normandy, which sells for 112s per cwt, but to reach this price the shipment must be carefully selected, neatly and cleanly packed in cases, and forwarded in the ship's cool ohamber. Retailers have a weakness for butter in cases, and will readily pay 11 2s per cwt for it, but for butter of indentical quality in kegs they decline to give more than 108s per cwt. The second qualities of butter realise 96s per cwt, and for these there is a limited market. There is a practically unlimited market for the best qualities, reaching London in prime condition. Danish butter, which dominates the market, is selling at 186s per owt.