DAIRY PRODUCE OUTLOOK.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 April 1922, Page 7

DAIRY PRODUCE OUTLOOK.

EFFECT OF HIGHER BUTTER PRICE. HALF OUTPUT WILL BENEFIT. Wellington, March 27. Greatly improved prices foi New Zealand butter in England will enable producers to finish the season v|ith infinitely better returns than progress payments on butter-fat have indicated. An inquiry was made of Mr. J. McEwan, a prominent dairy produce merchant, to-day as to how much of New Zealand’s season’s output is likely to benefit from the high prices, and he £aid that apparently only half of the total production will be marketed under improved conditions. Mr. McEwan was also able to give important information regarding the causes of the buoyancy in the market. “What hung over lis like a wet blanket,” said Mr. M'Ewan, “was the unsold balance of 22,000 tons of Imperial stocks. Prices had to reach a certain level before the multiple shops in England started buying butter to sell at a price which could put the margarine out of the running. This they achieved, but the consumptive demand became so strong that it is only within the last ten- or fourteen days that importers appeared to realise that there was not enough butter in sight. The rise is exceedingly lucky to New Zealand producers, coming at a time when they still have such large quantities to sell. It will materially improve their average returns for this season. The lonic shipment; which arrived on February 19, wasthe last to sell at 140 s. Then Wiltshire’s consignment sold on March 12 at 160 s to 1635. Up to the point of the lonic’s shipment about 20,000 tons of New Zealand butter had been sold at about 120 s, though small earlier shipments got the benefit of a shortage and fetched 170 s to 190 s. Thus it is now evident that half this season’s output of butter will bring prices in excess of 140 s. Taking an average future price of 1655, this equals at least Is 3d per lb of butter-fat, so that producers may wind up their season with a return of something like Is 2d on the whole production. The next shipments to be sold will go higher, and if they fetch 180 s it means Is 5d return for butter-fat. This is the cloud with the silver lining, and it is going to make a very de* cided difference to the prospects of producers.”

Mr. M'Ewan remarked that nobody outside the trade could realise what a buoyant market meant to producers. There were good signs all round. For instance, he had received information from a very large house in Montreal stating that to meet the Canadian winter demand they had to buy quantities of New Zealand butter from London. They bought from London at a lower price than New Zealand factories were prepared to take, the fact being that we were asking in New Zealand a price higher than the world’s price.

Mr. M'Ewan said he had good reason to believe that a large quantity of New Zealand butter had been going to France and Italy, which, with the increasing English demand, accounted for the improved tone of the market. His latest cabled information justified the factories in continuing to consign, despite the high prices now offered.

MR. S. TURNER’S OBSERVATIONS. Writes Mr. S. Turner (J. and J. Lonsdale and Co., Ltd.) from London under date February 9:— I enclose you, a cutting from the Daily Daily Mirror, London, from which you will see that margarine is down to vd and 9 per lb—pre-war prices. Experts here consider this cut is owing to the Maypole Dairy Company losing 60 per cent, of their margarine business caused by the Imperial Government’s stored butter being sold at 10%d to lid per lb for Australian stored, and Ils to Is per lb for New Zealand stored, which found a brisk sale. The effect of this cheap butter will be felt shortly because it will get rid of the present stocks of stored butter and cause the demand to go on to better quality. Another movement taking place in butter is the ready purchase i of Jiis season’s New Zealand butter, and although Is 4d per lb has been the retail price, the wholesale price is Is 3%d to Is 4d at the present time. The retail cut in the price of an article creates a big demand, and drives the price up. The present price of Danish butter is only 10s per cwt. more than New Zealand. This is caused by our quality of new season’s butter making itself felt. There is not the slightest doubt that if New Zealand was as near to England as Denmark is, that New Zealand would secure as good a price as Danish, despite the fact that Denmark supplies this market all the year round. One wonders how strong this margarine competition with butter is, and at what price margarine can be nianurac i tured. Luckily for cheese, there is no substitute for this article. On the other hand, New . Zealand is competing with English and Canadian. The latter cheese landed each cheese in a box. almost airtight, saves in shrinkage and deterioration, and has an advantage over New Zealand, especially when delay in loading at the New Zealand port takes place. Then the reduction of temperature on our steamers is not good, for the cheese that is handed to the shipping company at, say, 75 degress. The Canadian sends his cheese in following numbers, and keeps his colored ana white separate. Both these factors help the quick distribution, which saves deterioration and shrinkage. As soon as New Zealand ships the cheese in fol lowing numbers and colored and white separate, and lands the cheese on this market in regular fortnightly shipments, a big step forward will take place. , If New Zealand could cut up the curd in similar pieces, and use more powerful presses, the holiness in cheese would, in my opinion, disappear, and in this way a point would be gained over Canadian, which is also faulty in that direction.

While Siberian butter is off the market we are sure to have good prices for both butter and cheese. Ne-v Zealand cheese is recovering from the bad mi* 1 - ups owing to congestion in the shipping from New Zealand, but every possible care should be given to the promt loading at the New Zealand ports, and lack of delay on the wharf in cheese shipments. The cracks on the cheese, so prevalent on the London market, in my opinion, have been caused by tae cheese sweating whilst waiting for shipment; then the freezing on board ship to get the temperature down. After the fat on the outside of the cheese has been sweated out of the cheese, there is no elasticity in the outride of the cheese to allow for the expansion and contraction caused by the freezing a •<! thawing of the cheese. Tightly packed crates

are also a serious drawback, and prevent free circulation of air. It must be remembered that cheese conta'.nihg the fullest amount of moisture require nearly as careful handling as butter, and should not be handled as a semi-perish-able article. I am convinced that New Zealand will become a cheese producing country, with the exception of the North of Auckland, and other districts unsuitable for its production. This may take another ten years, but, to my mind, New Zealand can more than hold her own in the production of cheese, while we requb’e favorable circumstances to produce bMter, wool, meat, as a- paying proposition compared with other countries. The Imperial authorities held over one million boxes of butter November 23, 1921. These are all cleared and fast going into consumption. Russia has just purchased wheat, and may have to purchase butter. Six million people are sure to die in Russia. England and America have saved 16 million people from dying by their prompt relief action. This is from a Russian source of information, and is reliable.