RETAIL PRICES OF N.Z. BUTTER.

Shannon News, 6 March 1925, Page 2

RETAIL PRICES OF N.Z. BUTTER.

Prom the latest English flies to hand, it becomes evident that the retail price of butter in England does not decline in sympathy with a drop in the wholesale prices as quickly as it responds to a rise. It is generally admitted that low prices encourage consumption, aiid so tend to an increased demand. Such a reaction, however, is sometimes a long time in making itself felt, a fact which is no doubt due to the above mentioned cause. Messrs A. E. Tilley and Co., Condor produce merchants, writing in “Th.‘ Daily Telegraph,” are making the following significant remarks on the subject:— "Are you aware, they ask, ‘that the butter market has fallen over £4O per ton during the past six weeks, at,d yet the retailers still hold firm to 2/and 2/3 per lb? The top price for first grade New Zealand butter to-day is 168/- to 170/- per cwt, ami Hist grade Australian Victorian butter 164/ to 168/-. I have made sales to-day to large.retailers at this price, namely 1/6J per lb, and yet they are still charging the public 2/- and 2/3. Pre-war retailers’ ordinary profit was lSd and 2d per lb; now they are profiteering by asking 5d and 6d ’per lb. It is absurd that a man should get 5d and 6d profit on an outlay of 1/6. You will be doing the public a great j service by making this information f public.” I Inquiries made by a “Times’ representative disclosed a difference of opinion as to whether the retailers were passing on the reduction to the consumer. One prominent wholesa c importer expressed the view tba‘: the retailers were asking far too high prices. He said the butter market had fallen by over £SO per ton during the past bix weeks. He had just made sales to large retailers of first grade Australian and New Zealand butter at prices which worked out at 1/65 per lb. Yet the retailers were still charging the public 2/- to 2/3, which gave them a profit from 6d Sd per lb. In his view, the multiple shops and the large retailers were tht chief offenders. Retailer’s Defence. In referring to these comments, a retailer in Essex points out, in a letter to ‘The Times” that there is one statement by ‘a prominent wholesale importer,’ part of which is unfair on a long-suffering and unjustly abused class — ‘the retail grocers and provision merchants.’ He states that ‘though he had just made sales 1o large retailers of first-grade Australian and New Zealand .butter at ail average of 1/6J the retailers were still charging the public 2/- and 2/3 per ib-*-6d to Sd profit.’ This statement does not correspond with facts, as to by certain knowledge practically every grocer the whole of last week charged 1/10 for first-grade Australian and 2/- for first-grade New Zealand. Considering that they had io pay at least 184/- for first-grade Australian and 190/-192/- for first-grade New Zealand butter the week-end before, for last week's trade they were only making a small and legitimate profit of less than 3d per lb, o il of which they had to pay carriage, gross costs of weighing, overhead charges, which eat up 10 per cent, of the profit.”