Spurious Brand to Argentine Butter

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 37, 6 May 1927, Page 1

Spurious Brand to Argentine Butter

ACTION EXPECTED CONSUL VOICES REGRET (From Our Resident Reporter.) WELLINGTON, To-day. There was a mild flutter in dairv circles caused this morning when the announcement was made that butter

was being shipped from the Argentine to England labelled “ Zelandia,” and the declaration was made here that this was an attempt to capture the New Zealand market.

Mr. Coates says that the High Commissioner will assuredly be looking into the matter, but any action this country might take would be through the Dairy Board. “We are not going to put up with that without a struggle,” Mr Coates added. A different complexion was put on the matter by Senor Bidone, Argentine Consul in New Zealand. “There must be something wrong,” he said *to a SUN man. “The word ‘Zelandia’ is frequently used in Argentine because there is a shipping and also an insurance company there of that name. By mentality and nature the Argentine mind prefers what is original and not what is mere copy.” He suspected that those who sent the produce under this name were Englishmen and not Argentinians.

“New Zealand and Argentine maintain commercial and spiritual relations of a most cordial nature,” he added “notwithstanding that here are some speculators without ideals who uphold that the ‘flag protects the merchandise.’ vet this attitude can destroy them. It will be one of my duties to request my government to adopt measures directed to avoid the continued use of the mark ‘Zelandia’ in respect of any blitter, or other product, made in the Argentine.”