The Daily News. THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1913. THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 4, 5 June 1913, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1913. THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

The annual report of the National Dairy Association, a summary of which appeared in yesterday's issue, is, as usual, of considerable interest to the general public, and of not a little valine to dairymen. In its review of last year's oper- t ations, it remarks that "as the 1911-1912 ( season was remarkable for the high range of prices obtained for New Zealand dairy produce, the 1912-13 season , would probably be remembered as fruitful of great anticipations, resulting, however, in unfulfilment." Prices last season, < no doubt, were disappointing, from the dairymen's standpoint, and the report de&ls trenchantly with the causes. It shows that both butter and cheese should • have returned at least 5s per cwt. higher. The Trade gave as its reasons for the setback: the increased sale \>f margarine, over-production, indifferent quality of the imported article, the phenomenal make of autumn cheese, the mild winter in England, and the quantity of butter stored in the United Kingdom at the beginning of our export season. The report knocks the bottom out. of most of these statements. Last year the imports of .dairy produce were considerably less than in the two previous' -years, whilst never in the history,'.oft England was the spending power of ~the people greater, owing to the abnormal increase of trade. One would have thought, from the arguments adduced by tho Trade, that the increased sales of margarine would have affected Danish supplies, ' but they did not. Danish prices were maintained, whilst ours steadily decreased. Why? Good judges stato I that for quality, appearance and texture the New Zealand article is quite equal ito the best Danish. There can be very | little doubt that had tlie New . Zealand • factories sold their outputs to the extent tliey did the.year before, prices for our ! produce would liave been much higher. We remember a conversation with a Home buyer last season, just after so many of the Taranaki. factories decided to consign. "Take it from me," he said, "prices for New Zealand produce this season in London will recede a good deal. The factories are foolish. They have had good prices offered for their outputs, and they are standing in their own light in not accepting them.'' That agent knew the ways, and the potent influence, of the London Trade. As the National Dairy report says, "the future method of marketing produce requires serious consideration and combination." Until combined comprehensive measures are taken, the producers will be a,t it'disadvantage. The Trade cannot manipulate 1 the prices of the Danish article to suit themselves, for the reason that the Danes combine to fix the selling price themselves. If the Danes can do this successfully, there is no reason why the New Zealanders should hot'.' Of course, Denmark has the advantage over us of keeping up its supplies throughout the year, but that cannot account for the wide disparity between the market rates ruling for the dairy produce of the respective countries. If we had to depend in future wholly upon the Home market, then it would be incumbent upon out" dairymen to follow the lead of the Danes and go in for winter dairying, but, happily for the New Zealand dairymen, they will in the near future have the choice of other and probably more profitable markets. Canada is already taking a good deal of our produce, the trade having grown in a year from 52,028 boxes of butter and 5636 crates of cheese to 117,493 boxes and 22,781 crates respectively, but these figures will be small compared with the quantity that will be ' exported both to Canada and the United States if the Tariff Bill now before the latter country is carried, as seems almost certain. The United States i 8 a big consumer of butter and cheese, and, once the present tariff wall is re'moved, New Zealand, if it is at all alive to its interests and opportunities, must establish a large trade in dairy produce with it. Then, as is pointed out in thd report ' under review, the abolition of tile tariff would give an enormous impetus to the consumption in the United States of Canadian cream, butter and "cheese, which would have the effect' 'of decreasing competition- on the English markets. Canada and New Zealand are practically the only countries that export Cheddar cheese, and the prospects, as the report says, must be considered satisfactory. Meanwhile, step 3 should be taken by ouv exporters, through the Association, to put things on a better footing so far as the marketing of our produco in the United Kingdom is concerned, so as to render impossible the position,that has arisen this year whereby our producers have not secured the value' for their produce that they were justified in expecting. On the whole, the outlook for the dairy industry wafe never brighter, and we feel certain that if the ' men at the head of the industry are alive to their responsibility; "unfilled expectations" will not be written of next year's operations.