THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIII, Issue 9116, 8 April 1908, Page 2

THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

THE OUTLOOK FOR THE SEASON. Press Association. Wellington, April 7 Butter has declined Id per pound, both wholesale and retail, quotations being now Is and Is 4d respectively. Auckland, April 7. The Wellington quotation for butter has for some time past been higher than that ruling in Auckland. The all-round decline of one penny per lb therefore brings the southern price very little lower than the present quotation here. Some relief was afforded;;by the genial weather conditions which prevailed towards the end of last month and the production all over the North Island received a considerable stimulus. In the opinion of a genueman identified with the butter trade in the Auckland province, the reduction in Wellington was arranged while the full advantage of the increased make was being realised. The brief spell of favourable weather and consequent improvement in the milk supply also made it appear possible that a reduction might 'S'! effected in Auckland, hut the sudden cold change of the last few days precludes the likelihood of this being realised. The output will be still further restricted, and as the quantity in cold storage is very small for this time of the year, butter is likely to.be in short supply right through the winter. Another well-known butter merchant, in referring to the subject, pointed out that the reduction in

Wellington only brings the southern price to an equivalent, of that "now ruling in Auckland. The merchant in question anticipates very little variation one way or the other in the Auckland quotation. Some alarm, he points out, was occasioned by the fact that If,ooo boxes, "which were intended for export, had to be retained in the Dominion, but after the bulk of this has been disposed of the market will, in his opinion, settle down. It is impossible to say what the April-May output is going to be, but the cold snap in the Auckland and Taranaki provinecs will have a deteriorating effect.