BUTTER AND CHEESE.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1921, Page 4

BUTTER AND CHEESE.

FUTURE PROSPECTS DISCUSSED. INTERVIEW WITH MR. A. MORTON. HEALTHIER TONE EXPECTED “The consuming public generally are fully alive to the fact that any pronounced fall in the value of butter and cheese would be serious to the Dominion as a whole, and would affect every member o£ the community,” said Mr. A. Morton, chairman of the National Dairy Association, in discussing with a Daily News reporter yesterday the question of the drop in the price of New Zealand butter. Touching on the existing market conditions with the recent slight drop, Mr. Morton said that the worst feature at the present time is the large amount of Government butter still on hand, and which is said to amount to nearly 30,000 tons. Until this was disposed of it was going to affect the prices which the producer was likely to receive for the freshly-made article. The policy of the authorities at Home of holding the butter, and at the same time checking consumption, had neither been in the interests of the producers nor instrumental in enabling them to hiake a satisfactory clearance. There was, of course, a certain prejudice against the butter that was being held, on account of the fact that it was old stock. Although it was frozen butter, however, it was still a good article, but on account of being held so long would not keep as well after being de-frozen. Discussing future prospects, Mr. Morton remarked that there were no recent cabled New Zealand quotations on which to form an estimate, but latest Danish reports showed that Danish butter was quoted at 245 s per cwt. If the price for the New Zealand article was anywhere within the region of the quotation for Danish—and it was anticipated by several of those interested in the industry (including agents and factory directors) that it would be — then the prospects were still excellent. Assuming that New Zealand butter was to bring even within ten shillings of Danish it would still return to the producer 235 s per cwt—a price which would net him. eventually Is 10-Jd per lb, which must be looked upon as exceedingly satisfactory. He anticipated that reports would be received shortly indicating a much healthier tone in the market. The first quotations regarding the new season’s make, however, could not be taken as a general guide, as the butter was the August output, which, it was generally recognised, was not the best, being the first shipment. In connection with cheese prices, Mr. Morton said that the reported sale of a large quantity of damaged cheese had had a bad effect in the open marketing conditions, which the new season’s make would have to meet. He said it was now a muchdiscussed question as to whether this consignment should have been allowed to leave New Zealand, for the price for which it had been disposed of would apparently return nothing whatever above freight charges.