LONDON CHEESE MARKET

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27683, 13 June 1955, Page 14

LONDON CHEESE MARKET

MINISTRY CLEARS N.Z. STOCKS (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON. June 9 The Ministry of Food has sold almost all its stocks of New Zealand cheese, and the market in Britain has shown some improvement, says the Commonwealth Economic Committee. Although the output is rising seasonally prices of home-produced cheese have remained at high levels. Cheshire fetching 250 s per cwt. compared with 157 s per cwt for New Zealand finest. Butter prices remain unchanged, except for a reduction of 20s per cwt in the Ministry’s price for Danish, which reflects the seasonal increase in arrivals. Indications are, says the committee, that butter consumption has shown some improvement, although cold storage stocks have continued to increase and were 28,000 tons on May 20, compared with 36,100 10 months earlier. The general tendency is for the combined consumption of butter and margarine to increase, and, if this trend continues this year, margarine consumption may rise, as supplies of butter are not likely to be greater than last year. At the end of this month, new arrangements will come into force for the marketing of Australian butter and cheese exports to Britain, with the conclusion of the bulk purchase contract. Exports will no longer be handled by the Ministry, but will be consigned to the London office of the Australian Dairy Produce Board, which will allocate supplies to selected agents for sale under its general direction. The Ministry’s contract with Denmark will conclude later in the year.