TINNED BUTTER.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 November 1920, Page 11 (Supplement)

TINNED BUTTER.

POSSIBILITIES OP TRADE WITH WEST AFRICA. A resident of Sierra, Leone and Lagos, who is visiting New Zealand, emphasised to a Dominion reporter recently the possibilities of trade in tinned butter with the British possessions on the West Coast of Africa. "At the present time," he said, "there are two sources of butter for the whole of the West Coast of Africa. By far tho greater portion of the butter used comes from Denmark, and the remainder from Dorset and Somersetshire, in England. High priceß are, of course, the bugbeat of the coast, and in Addah and Accra I have paid 2s 3d and 33 Od per half pound tin. Even then the butter was invariably old, and often quite rancid and unpalatable The natives are great lovers of butter, and although they cannot obtain it cheaply, they buy it in great quantities. As they are accustomed to 'trade productions,' unscrupulous traders buy ancient consignments of tinned butter and sell it to the gulliblo krooman! "It is considered by residents of the Gold Coast that it should be an easy thing for the Dominion at the present time, given extra siiipping facilities, to take the place of Denmark in supplying an essential dairying product which would he both appreciated and well paid for. There could, perhaps, be inaugurated a direct trade from New Zealand along! the coast, the chief centre of distribution being Sierra Leone. Erom that port, at which any amount of butter could be stored, coastal vessels could convey it to Second!, Cape Coast Castle, Addah, Lomi, Accra, and Lagos, the principal ports. From these centres the butter would be distributed Into the hinterland. New Zealand butter is vastly superior to either the British or Dafnish production, and once your product gets to the coast, the inhabitants would scorn the productions $t otter dairying eeuatri»B."