THE SUPREMACY OF DANISH BUTTER

Shannon News, 23 December 1924, Page 3

THE SUPREMACY OF DANISH BUTTER

problems control notwithstanding toe fa°£ Being answered bya writer in "Irish Statesman” in a way that may be of interest and benefit to the proHiioßrs in iNqw• -n The reason for the supremacy of Danish butter, as, seen, by this writei. Continuity of supply. (2) Large "scale marketing. (3) Uniformity of _ quality. . (4) Possession of- the ! market. ,

(5) Organisation.' Continuity of . Supply. t * ‘‘Continuity of S J“ n( 5" says, "is possible because Den mark produces as much butter in the winter as, it does in the summer. New Zealand alone is making any seriods attempt to rival Den mark in this respect. ' There is BLOW practically, no break between one New Zealand season and another, and ® 0 “ sequently' that enter into competition, with Denmar for first piace in the 'British markets. All other countries , are seasonal in their supplies to thpse markets. an this is particularly so in the case or Ireland Holland, which has a big wintersupply, tods its best customers in Germany' Ireland j with an equable SISSfSa fertile IS well able to produce' winter nnv of its competitors, but signauy I fails ; to do so. "Perhaps Nature , has been--too kind: to us. By having this I continued supply, Denmark is able to retain its customers all the y® ar round, whilst its rivals have to buy their way on to the market at,* the beginning of Denmartc can always be relied upon for sup-

■ In speaking of New Zealand conditions this writer’s remarks are certainly over-generous, as our supply of Gutter on th|: English»market is anything hut regular all the year round. Although we whole-heartedly agree that a continuity of supply is one of our most important and moat essentiol factors in establishing a goodwill foi - our produce, and ,so obtain the best possible praise • therefor, we must unfortunately'confess that up to the present we are a long way troin attaining such ideal. -Takingeven the last year as an example, we uncr that our monthly export of butter into? Great Britain varied from 194 tons m 1 September to 7782 tons in February. With our present export of approximately 60,000. tons, of butter, we should, by regulating our shipments and distribution be m a position to regularly suPP th ® English market with 1000 tons-of butter a. week, and until we accomplish this, the New Zealand farmer will never reap * the -full benefit of his production. ■. ... , Uniformity of Quality, i. “Uniformity of quality,” continues the writer, “is generally put forward as the chief reason why Danish butter i takes first place. We hava always ! been somewhat sceptical about the j claims which the grocers have made for Danish in this respect. The Danes themselves would not claim • as < much. | The grocers hail it as perfect. This may be regarded as a compliment to Ireland, when we consider what a large- proportion of our 'butter.packed in. kegs and casks, the British people swallow,, believing all the- time that they are consuming Danish butter. . . In this matter the public is permitted to deceive itself. It has been accustomed tt) see 1 Danish butter in a particular shape, and in making its 1 > chases, it asks for “Kiel" butter, and gets it. It does not ask for Danish, but the seller is not obliged to inform it that it is,getting Finnish, or Irish, or Esthoniaii.” _. We, in New Zealand, are, aware, of course, that the bulk of our butter is sold as anything but New Zealand butter, yet, at the same : time, we I should recognise the-fact''"that there' exists much room for improvement in standardising the quality of our;.dairy, produce. The-opinion is held ‘in': certain. quarters'that New-Zaeland should . export nothing but first „ grade .and superfine butter. This might be ,cpn r sidered. a drastic measure to .impose on the dairy industry, but nothing would produce, quicker and better results in improving the quality of our produce and establishing a supremacy for! our butter in the world’s markets.

improvement Must Start on Farm. • much is certain, however, that a greater uniformity ‘of quality must - begin with" a * general improvement of our raw material. The ' improvement . must start» wtth.< -the milk . and cream on'the farm; the process at the(factory must be on scientific and-up-to-date lines, and,the carriage,and.handling must be done expeditiously ana efficiently, until our produce finally reaches the consumer’s table. ■Apart* from these two factors, there are, ,of course, 1 the questions of marketing, ■ distribution, • advertising,. etc., but they sink into insignificance when compared iwith continuity of, supply and uniformity of quality. The. question which naturally t arises. is* How can we improve our present condition ? Can we. bring about a continuity of supply and uhiformity of duality ? The answer should- certainly be iin the Affirmative,- and a ‘ solution should be found in the regulation of our shipping and grading of; our milk and cream.

Freight dates, not Freight Bates. The Dairy Control - jßoavd, m making the recent shipping contract claims a saving of £126,000 by way of redded freight rates. But what is, more important, than freight rates ai e freight dates. Until New Zealand is in a position of placing 1000 tons of butter on the ! London market every Monday morning, 'the same as Denmark, it inust never expect to receive the same value for its produce. If it cannot be done with shipping, it must be done byilsjtofing. If ithe English grocer is ‘ expected : to .stock our butter ;as New Zealand - butter, then ! vhe must ,be in a position ,to buy it all the year round with the same facility as he buys a postage stamp. ’lf we cannot accomplish this, let us encohrage 'the' blenders and tors, for that is the next best proposition. ' A As to the grading of our raw material, the opinion is. gradually gaining ground that, to do this effectively, ; grading must be made, compulsory. The • progress made, by voluntary.; grading is far too ' slow to make itself felt. It is the . national, not the individual, improving of our produce '-that ‘counts : *in ! the''world’s markets, and in these two problems alone lies

a great field for the activities of the Dairy Control/Board. If it’can . bring New Zealand methods within measureable distance of Danish efficiency, it will well deserve : the gratitude or the whole of the New Zealand dairy producers.