THE BUTTER TRADE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 6 April 1907, Page 2

THE BUTTER TRADE.

NEARLY THREE MILLION POUNDS IX STORE. UNSATISFACTORY POSITION. Two million eight hundred thousand pounds of butter were. in. Xew Zealand cool rooms at the end of last month, held buck from oversea shipment ("says the X.Z. Times). And at Auckland, New Plymouth, and Wellington this great quan'ity is being steadily augmented. The season, highly favorable to extended production, is making this policy of excessive storage even more harmful to the industry than would be the case under a more normal output. A longer season has probably never been experienced in the colony. The factories commenced operations a month earlier than usual, and with abundant feed and mild weather in the North Island, there is every probability that the milk supply will hold out much longer than in past seasons. Consequently butter will continue to be piled up in the cool stores, and, considerably beyond local requirements, the big surplus will probably not be placed on the Home markets till next spring. The natural result of this will be that next season's butler will suffer not only in -price lint in reputation. It will suffer in price, for past experience has proved that when stored butler of a particular country has gone on lo a market immediately before its new season's the price of the latter has invariably been affected. And the reputation of the butter will be injured, as it is highly probable that some of the stored butter will be sold as new season's. Even if prices are not as high as tlir.y might be, it is certainly bad business to initiate a season with stale butter. True, some of Hie butter being held may be shipped before ne\l season, but even if this is done a great quantity will be held over. Some idea of the quantity being stored locally may lie gained from the fact that there is at Hie present moment, enough butter in tin- works of the Wellington .Meal Export Company to supply the city of Wellington for six months. The actual amount is )5,.)3;511>, anil calculating the average consumption for lill.OOO people at threequarters of a pound per week (the estimated consumption in England is a tfiird of this) we get the above result. This is what the quantity at present in store will do, but butter is coming- in every day, and a certain amount will be made for local consumption right throughout the 'winter, To say the least of it, the position is most, unsatisfactory.