GHEE BUTTER

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21386, 31 January 1935, Page 12

GHEE BUTTER

❖ EASTERN MARKETS INVESTIGATED SAMPLES TO BE SHIPPED POSSIBLE AID TO DOMINION INDUSTRY UMiitiS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON. January 30. The Minister for Industries and Commerce (the Hon. R. Masters) stated to-day thai, his Department is actively following up the preliminary enquiries which it has made regarding the market for ghee butter in the East. and the possibilities of manufacturing ghee in New Zealand for export to that part of the world, by making experimental shipments to various countries so as to try out the markets and ascertain the type or types of ghee most acceptable to the trade. Arrangements were recently made with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Dairy Research Institute at Masscy Agricultural College for samples of ghee to be prepared for that purpose. These experiments have been completed, and the Department of Industries and Commerce is now arranging for the shipment. of samples to the Dutch East Indies. British Malaya; Ceylon, India, Burma, Ilong Kong, and China. Complete ranges of samples, each comprising eight types of ghee made t'vom different qualities of butter and picpared in different ways, are being sent to the department's representatives in those countries wtv:.*c representatives have been appointed. In places where such repr Jientatives arc not located, arrangements have been made for the services of trade commissioners to be mau : available, and the samples are being suit to ihem. Arrangements will Lk: made by such representatives and trade commissioners for the samples to be tried out oy suitable linns in the different countries, and for reports to be submitted.

Samples for India In addition to the samples which will be sent in this way to Jndia, two ranges of samples are also being sent to the Imperial dairy expert stationed at Bangalore. All of the samples being dispatched are contained in hermetically scaled tins. Apart, from obtaining reports upon the market for ghee generally m each of the countries mentioned, and upon the prospects of developing markets for New Zealand ghee of any of the eight types in particular, it is especially disired to obtain" full information as to:(1) Which of the types is preferable for trade purposes. (2) What defects, if any, are shown in any or all of the samples. (3) What is the market value of the samples, both wholesale and retail. Upon the receipt of this information, larger quantities of any particular type or types of ghee for which a preference is disclosed can be prepared. Divergences of Opinion A considerable amount of publicity has been given recently to the subject of the market for ghee in the East, particularly in India, and the Department of Industries and Commerce has made fairly extensive enquiries. While the reports obtained have shown wide divergences of opinion as to the prospects of opening up a market for New Zealand gheo, the results of the enquiries have nevertheless been sufficiently promising to warrant further detailed investigations. Insufficient experimental work on the manufacture of ghee has been done in the past in New Zealand, to provide an assurance that ghee of the right kind and colour could be successfully made. The experimental shipments now being made by the Department of Industries and Commerce should result in much valuable data being obtained, and, especially, should be the means of providing such information as will enable more or less definite and accurate conclusions to be drawn about market prospects. Ghee is clarifi'ed butter, and is widely used throughout India as a most valued article of diet, and for almost all purposes to which butter and other edible fats are commonly put.