NEW ZEALAND BUTTER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 July 1938, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER

A FRESH COMPETITOR ANGLO-EIRE AGREEMENT (By Telegraph—Press Association.) DUNEDIN, July 5. It is recognised that the Anglo-Eire agreement exposes New Zealand butter to a fresh competitor in the British market. A letter received by an Otago settler from a friend in Manchester, who does not seem to regard the Dominion product favourably, contains the following statement: — In your last you touched briefly upon your hopes that we should continue to return you good prices for butter and cheese. As a merchant I can just say that the backs of our trade are up concerning the supreme folly of working up New Zealand butter prices so high that you are very certainly working up effective permanent opposition to New Zealand butter, and when Irish comes in again you will have to start to do your publicity work over again with the certainty that great numbers of merchants will never market it again. In our market the finest butter is the finest in the world, and that is Danish. Today is “change day,” and Danish butter is 131 s. For Swedish, which before the war was always the same price, nowadays the price is usually 7s to 12s below Danish. Then, equal in bulk and in quality, is Finnish which is about the same price as Swedish. Both the latter butters are very pale, and for that reason are preferred in many districts to both Danish and New Zealand. You must remember that Danish butter is always dated, and from the date of selling it is only six to 12 days old. Below that is New Zealand butter which, because of its age, is always 2d to 4d a pound below the price of Danish, Swedish or Finnish.