FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 211, 6 March 1914, Page 8

FARM AND DAIRY

MEAT AND BUTTER IX SAX FBANCISCO. The San Francisco correspondent of the Melbourne Age thus describes the condition of the San Francisco market at the end of January, when the Waimate arrived from Sydney and Wellington with 1000 tons of frozen produce and IfiS.OOOlh of butter:—The tactics adopted 'by the San Francisco meat retailers are now, and have been for several months, to sell the meat as meat, and obtain the prevailing prives, thereby reaping a rich harvest of profit. They flatly denied they were handling Australian meat, and refused to bill it as such, although the size and quality of the imported article was patent to all purchasers. The prime appearance of the foreign commodity proved beyond a doubt that consumers were getting the Australian product, but the retailors maintained that it was American meat only which they purveyed, and accordingly demanded the local higher prices. One unbiassed official aptly remarked. —"If retailers say that it is Australian meat the public naturally expect a reduction in prices, but this the retailers do not feel disposed to give." Immediately upon the arrival of the Waimate, the San Francisco mercantile manipulators of the markets initiated a movement to "freeze out" the imported commodity. Butter of an almost parallel quality was quoted at San Francisco at 27 cents a pound for the local article, as against the Australian butter, which costs about 2!)'/. cents to land in the California]] metropolis. The depreciation of local juices was caused by the extraordinary rains in California and the promise of a good season, the market manipulator* pleaded. Apart from this plea, the general reduction in prices was obviously brought about to prevent Australian butter being successfully handled. The consumer sizes up the situation as an effort by the American trusts to kill the operations of Australian exporters. Mr. Fricke, Commissioner for the Victorian Government at San Francisco has been brought down to the price of what it costs to land Australian storage butter in California. The imported butter is classed with the local second-grade-—called 'firsts"—awl much of it lias been in cold storage. The fresh local butter is held to be yet its price has been lowered to 27 cents a- pound. Fresh dairv butter in San Francisco is known as 'extras' The cut in price of 2'/ s cents prevents the I Australian butter being handled The only cure will be to petition Congress for a further reduction in the butter duty imposed by the United States Gr \ eminent on the land of butter from abroad."