BUTTER OFFER.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 August 1920, Page 5

BUTTER OFFER.

HIGHER THAN THE FIRST, CONTRACT TIME LIMITED. LOCAL PRICE MAY BE 2s 9d. (By, Wire.—Parliamentary I: - ter.) Wellington, Last Night. The New Zealand Butter Committee sat in Wellington to-day to consider the offer made by the Imperial Government for the purchase of the exportable surplus of butter from this country. It has been commonly supposed that the '*»t offer received by the butter producers of this country had been the offer made to the Australian butter people of approximately 240s per cwt. Thiß offer t£e New Zealand producers did not accept. They asked, first of all, for a free market, but this demand they did not secure. However, they did secure an offer a great deal better than that made t<r Australia. The committee had before it to-day an offer from the Imperial Government of 280s per cwt., but the offer was to hold up to January 31 next. The committee has cabled to ask that the term be extended to coincide with the terms of other contracts, which have invariably been up till July 31. It is thg hope of the committee that this counterproposal from New Zealand will be accepted. It is also the opinion of the committee that, in view of the added price of New Zealand butter, it will be necessary for the Imperial Government to give more for Australian butter, for it is admitted that there is no difference in quality to make the difference in price justifiable. 1 The consumer of butter is interested in all this as affecting the price he will have to pay for butter locally. At 280s per cwt. for export it does not seem that butter can be retailed at less than 2s 9d per lb. The price will probably be still higher, unless steps are taken by the Government, as in recent past years, to keep the price below thß export parity.