THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 49, 17 February 1908, Page 4

THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

consignment versus sales. "if our dairy farmers, instead of lowing themselves to be depressed by the opinions of people specially interested in keeping down the values of butter in this country, were to set themselves to the task of placing the disposal of their produce on a sound business basis, it would he much to their advantage,'' says an article in the New Zealand Herald. "Advice given the factories by the newspapers at the opening of the season had the direct ell'ec-t of forcing the .buyers' hands to a certain extent, and the contract juice went up to lO'/jd to iO'Ad, but a panic seemed to the factories, and two-third* <>f the New Zealand factories sold on contract, fully three-fourths of the Auckland factories falling into line. At a moderate e.-timate. the buyers throughout the Dominion collectively innst be reaping £2110,000 on contractu'; thus, after deducting the losses of last season, netting £IOO,OOO for the two seasons. CONTRACT PRICES ADVANCED. The lmy*r<K did not, however, get all their own way in Auckland, and from their prices of !)'/od and o%d, they were obliged to go up to HM/id and lO'/od. at which the hulk of the butter was contracted for. Of' course, it must be admitted that the present high prices inav not last long. Any day may see a drop as the liist butter of the Danish season comes along. "In the present stale of the market it i* impossible to say how prices will go a fortnight hence: they may either rise or drop. There has been a general shortage and unfavorable seasons in all butter-producing countries. Denmark has been liuding new markets in <l.umany and on the Continent, and everywhere, as this paper pointed out at the opening of the reason, the tendency wa«s for the demand to increase at a greater rate than the -upply.

DIVERSION OF OTHER SUPPLIES. •"Then there has been less and less butter from Siberia, the war teaching the producers to send their butter Ea.u instead of West. .Most of the Nonnundy and Britanny butter has been going to Paris, while Canada and the United States are sending practically nothing to l»ndon thib season. Thus, the main onus of supplying the market was beginning to fall on New Zealand, Australia and the Argentine. "Again, the Home Butter Bill fixing the proportion of moisture at 10 per cent, has had something to do with the greater demand, because it checked the use of New Zealand butter for milling or mixing purposes.

"The two largest factories ill Auckland stood out from the contracts and consigned, and they arc now receiving the full benefit of the high prices. The present dry weather is cutting down the outputs of all the factories, and if the present conditions continue they will all lie practically closed down at the end of March. WINTER SHOUT AO E. "Nearly all of them have their outputs to the end of .March tied up under contracts, so that a rather serious position is being brought about. It really becomes a gamble oil the weather. I'asmroH are sO dried up that there is little or 110 hope of their recovering their normal strength this season, and, if present conditions continue, the factories will be closing down when they filled their contracts, thus 110 margin for local wiuter__usi ; .° n( j [] l( , factories which have foHT W ed the practice of consigning in anticipation of iuU'i' rates, so that they will beii'',Yt UV er a"ain. "Heavy ftjij* ]lou Would eheek the sudden-shortage, but they could nut 'VWt Ihe high w inter prices. There 'cannot be the slightest doubt that the South Island will suffer a very considerable shortage. The country in Canterbury and OLago i> drier than it has been known to be lor many years, and southfrrn houses a I'd already trying to buy largely iu the north. One of the largest southern factories reports that its output has so decreased, even at this lhat it cauuul nu'i-l ev<>n its n'i|iiin-nienis. IUTIKI: AT l'Wn SlJ|IJ,|X(.s.

"It will not Mirpri*e 1 ho<e iu tin' industry to *OO butter oil Auckland's own market going up anywhere I'nini Is (id to °Jin jut lb before the winter is over.

"The prices at Howe are rather better than Is V/A 1'.0.b. here. The difleren-e between prices ou the Homo market today, and those at which the factories on contract, is -Id per ib. That means that if the factories had stood out, and consigned they would bo receiving 4d per lb more for their butter, whereas lhe buyers are now that as prolit.