NEW ZEALAND DAIRY PRODUCE TRADE.

Te Aroha News, Volume XI, Issue 1727, 3 April 1895, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND DAIRY PRODUCE TRADE .

INTERVIEW WITH Mb 11. REYNOLDS

The London 1 correspondent of the N.Z. Herald -writing under date of /February 23rd says:—-“ I had a chat thisfeghbrning with Mr Henry Reynolds touching the position and prospects 6f the New Zealanddairy produce trade. I regret to say that he gave a most gloomy account of the situation, both present and prospective. * All our hopes of improvement when the cold' weather-should sot in have proved utterlv fallacious,’ said Mr Reynolds. ‘ Instead of helping us, as in former years, the. cold has done us harm, and made things much worse for us by throwing out of employment so many of the class who were the largest consumers of Now Zealand butter. Things are very bad indeed just now, and prospects are no better. Buyers have it all their own way.’ In reply to my enquiry whether any remedy was possible, Mr Reynolds said : ‘ Things will always be the same unless colonial producers will learn to send their butter to fewer hands, and so avoid the present disastrous competetion of Nev Zealand butter Against itself. There are some firms holding New Zealand butter who will not let a buyer go out of their doors; I mean that rather than miss a sale they let him have the butter at his own price. If the produce were in the hands of a few strong holders they could support one another in sticking out for better terms.’ ‘ There is no good reason,’ continued Mr Reynolds, ‘ why the best New Zealand butter should fetch so much lower a price than Danish. But when some holders force a sale at ruinously low rates rather than hold, the entire range of prices is brought dowu. It is not a case of over production as far as New Zealand is concerned, for the New Zealand increase is a mere, fraction compared with that of Prance. Denmark, and other foreign places. Some steps will have to be ta’-On to put the trade on a better footing. This year has been a most disastrous one for all concerned in the dairy industry. You cannot get moro than £4 109 to £4 14s to-day for the choicest New Zealand butter, and some very fine butter is being sold at £4 to •£4 10s. These are wretched prices. And then there is a storage question/ concluded Mr Reynolds, r There are still hundreds of tons of last season’s butter in the cold stores. The holders would gladly take <£2 10s or £3 10s for it if they could get it, but ’* buyers can hardly be found at any price. Even at such rates the loss will be .£2O to £3O per ton. There will be no more storing to hold. Butter will have to be sold olf at the end^ of each season at whatever price. It is 'simply ruinous to hold and store.’ Mr Reynolds then took his departure, leaving me saddened, for I really have no feasible suggestions to offer,,, thouo-’d l have earnestly conferred with all the .chief exp rts. The only moral de lucible seems to be that better arrangements must be made for the London distribution. The present system is utterly inadequate. Its am tinuanc; will he disastrous, if not abso--1,1 ely ruinous, to this important industry • and I fear, too. that the. New Zealand farmers will ha 7 ato be content with lower price their m : k next season lam sorry to li .vo only s .ich'cold comfort to <nve.