Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 1911. NEW ZEALAND BUTTER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10182, 7 March 1911, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 1911. NEW ZEALAND BUTTER.

In an article dealing with New Zealand butter, th.3 .'Mercantile Gazette comments on the disparity bepvwn (the prices of choicest Niw Zealand butter and Danish butter, and gives the following quotations furnished by the High Commissioner's office for a period of five years:—•

Danish gutter is. now 17s higher than New Zealand butter, while at the corresponding period last year the difference was only 7s, and in the year pnevious 9s. Another striking disparity is that compared Witli last) year New Zealand Butter is 12s lower, while Danish is only 2s lower. From till i it would seem (says the Gazette) that the Danish product is not being affected by New Zealand, while New Zealand is apparently. Buffering from the competition of Australia, Argentine, and, to a less degree, Siberia.

Our contemporary thinks that in j the factory New Zealand butter is , quite as good if not better than. ) Danish, but that is not the compar- | ison that controls the price in London. It is fresh Danish butter against butter forty or fifty days old earned in cool chamber, and the fresh butter must always prove the better and more saleable article. The Gazette goes on to say: Another point to hear in mind is that Danish butter has its own circle of customers, and up to a. point these customers will' continue to buy the j butter. When, however, there is > extreme scarcity, as was the case in 1908, they are ready enough to turn to the products of other countries. At tHie moment Danish butter, owing to Continental demands, is not in so heavy supply as usual, and the advance of a shilling or two per cwt. makes no difference to the customers, at least not- sufficient to drive them to buy other butters. It is different with New Zealand butter. The consumers of our butter are ready enough to buy, other imported) butters that have been transported long distances, provided, the quality is not markedly inferior. Now Australian butter has been reaching the London market in very large quantities this season and tlhe quality is superior to what it was in the previous seasozi. Heavy Australian supplies of reasonably good quality and increased supplies from New Zealand explain the' whole position. The conditions prevailing this season will be uo gui e for the next season, 'tcause butter is dependent upon r. ■ mati-i and other conditions. There Tim/ oe a shortage in the mi'v..; jii Australia and ■ even in New Zealand. and such - a shortage would make for high prices. The present state of the butter market is normal and quite in accord with the known conditions. It is unfortunate that the price should be so much less than it was a year ago> for it means heavy losses to Aiany people, but that is one of the ordinary risks of the business.

N.Z. Danish. Feb. 18, 1911 106s 123s Feb. 19, 1910 118s • 125s. Feb. 20, 1909 107s 116s Feb. 22, 1908 146s 148s Feb. 16, 1907 101s 112s