THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20426, 22 December 1931, Page 13

THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

M ; TO TUB rMTOB or THJB PRESS. •Sir,—l was pleased to see in yester&j'b PjiKdi a report of a meeting of friry-fnrmers held at Staveley, in »£fch a resolution was carried urging the various dairy companies to gut together and end the present strife, skich will be simply ruinous to the ifairy-tarmers oi the province. It is tgrely absurd that in Canterbury, viuch has the most difficult climato in Kew Zealand for the dairy-farmer, the local wholesale price of butter should be Id or 2d lower than in Wellington end Auckland. The trouble appears to that in Canterbury we have about * dozen rival companies manufacturing butter. At present there is a war on and prices are cut. These wars have occurred before, and have usually ' terminated by the companies getting together and entering into "a gentlemen's agreement" to maintain a certain price on the local market. This price has usually been well above the export pajrity, with the result that the larger grocers are able to make tea oi cheaper butter" outside ury. Some of the smaller facj'wing to-' tltfiir heavy; Overhead tnnot carry on if they hoive to on the oversea market, and rntly ;n order to retain their the local market they have in t given secret concessions to When this becomes known, utlomen's agreement" is torn another war starts: . This lias ie history of the butter busiChristchurch for a number of LSt, and it will continue to be there are so many competing ss, both co-operative and profarmers seem to have an idea Ifctt *h« t v derive some benefit from among dairy factories. Xobe further from the truth; feispetitioii means increased costs in fr&y direction; in collecting cream, •tiateuance of unnecessary factories, ittwlappin-; deliveries. superfluous fffin staffs, and iri bad debts. Also. present, one may add, the cost of iiral propaganda. I Bet strong co-operative concern handle to advantage the whole » butter produced in Canterbury, eliminating wasteful costs, tin 'the local market for Canirmers without raisins? prices •nsnnier. In fact, the only ['tain the local market is to local price on 21 parity with f New Zealand, lestion of amalgamation 01" terbury dairv factories has «J before; At the annual f the Central Dairv Courpnny resolution moved by myself •d requestiii<» the director*; to iivestijiate possibilities of tion with co-operative dairy manufacturing butter in the j nterbiiry district.'• On that j for ttirried down bv the Tai Tapu npanv. !.nt it is possible that • tin- directors of this comc experienced a change of b a shareholder in both the and Central Dairy Cornelia)] be glad to learn that . and I am sure the great of the dairy-farmers of the ■rill welcome and support any which irill tend to rationindustry and eliminate the is resulting from the present competition.—Yours, etc., C. MORGAN WILLIAMS. iber 19th, 1931.