Butter.

Manawatu Herald, 26 March 1896, Page 2

Butter.

Messrs W. Weddell and Co., London, in their weekly market report dated 7th February, Btate :— BuTTER.—Tbe demand for Australian and New Zealand batters during the current week has been pronouncedly stow, and is even more sluggish than the most pessimistic imagined. It appears that the retail trade have set their hearts on retailing Australian and New Zealand butters at a shilling per lb, and unless they can buy at such prices as will enable them to do this with profit they purchase other butters instead. The price that colonial has lately been realising has left too fine a margin of profit for the retail trade, and consequently Australian and New Zealand are being ne« glee ted, and until values are re* duced to such a figure as will allow a profit to grooers and buttermen when retailing at a shilling there will be no great demand. In a very similar way, though not so emphatic, to which the retail trade kicked at the rise in Danish by leaps and bounds in October, so they are protesting at the late hit»h valnes of colonial, and it will require some and a fall in values to induce them to purchase in quantity. There is so much butter coming into the ooun* (notwithstanding the shortage from Australia), and the weather is so mild, that the buyers are masters of the situation, and have suddenly made this fact apparent. It is very ". difficult to give a correct quotation for colonial butter, but the bul'c of what has been sold has gone at figures approximating 104?, only extra choice brands realising a few shillings higher.