WILL BUTTER BE DEARER?

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 108, 30 January 1908, Page 2

WILL BUTTER BE DEARER?

NO NEED FOR PANIC, REDUCTION BEFORE MARCH. Squib playful/Aucklander 'has frightened' lis about tho terrible prico we shall soon have to pay for our butter. He has made us think,that we,shall havo to pay cightcenpeuco a pound for tho precious fqt, and suljr siat, m conscquenco, :on broad and scrapo. Buttor at oghtoenppneo, howover, is not more likely to happen than butter at oiehtpwice,, Wo judge from the basis which guides.all those m the trade who make fore--oasts, TII9 Meal Scarcity. i Fiist of . all; I? there s a local - sWtago? Apparently,, on account of the prolonged dry :■ tlio : milk -output?, of -many, dairy farms havo decreased, and the decrease .will bwoino'Worso as tho, ram fails. to arnve.v in spite of it all, tho factories are'.still sporting--, heavily,-. Tlioy.-aro sending away by . tho frequent; ocean ■. steamers vtinco, as much, oheoso as they'gent; last- tear, j and only 10 per cent:- less butter. They must therefore bo. getting milk solids fronij some\yhero. . Tho iprico of butter :in. Wellington, (however, does not depend ; so . much> on - the amount V>f supply as on tho prico the artiolo is. bringing m England. It is something to know that, when. wo are eating bread-, and scrape--in .--Wellington: our.-friends-in:England are doing,exactly tho same. But w is something ■ much less comforting for the -hard-, working diiry,-farmor to reflect that, dospito the of tho drought, or the scarcity of tho white fluid in his milk pails, ho caniv-i" make matters; good bv raising beyond what tho-English conditions we.ri," unless, ofVcoursG, tho circumstances <vro !-" -1 remarkahle indeed, and suppliers and "• 'f dends to haunt thorn, will naturally l ;-^-" upon tho ocean. -. ' •, -f"" K Tho appended figures will show tli /.'V j English prices this month nro abr-: -< -ilv high. They are,'osuept tho figure f-i* kJO3, taken from Weddel's report, , a authority on the«o-matters:—-■ v ! London -Pricea of 'Australasia', Choicest- ■ :.,j - ■ • gutter, • / — ■ . j v prico . -v -V : ~ yir cwt, 7 January. 1002 ... .../Jos, Od. i „ 1903 .... ../.07s. 4d, / . -- -'f i „ 1904 •... '. i' 98s. Od. I ■~ 1005' ... 102s. 8d.7 . ' 1900 ... . HGs. Bd. „ 1907 , ' 107s ' 1908 ... 'U Ut)s. od,( : But the butter that r az> bet-sold in | Wellington this weok coul'i/'.t be put on| tho London market'till nes .--torch. Let us then, what is tho probr i value next Mtftrch of tho: choicest butter i ( Wellington J Wo use again -WeddoU ifitfiiwa.-, -and give thom ;for> February alsc• - London Prices of Australasian ■ Choicest Butter. • ' Av, price per cwt.- : . . / February. March. ; 1902 v„: IQUs; od. • 109s; Od. 1903'-'... ' 100s: 4d, ' 107s. 4d.- ; 1901 ... , 98s. 0,1. 98s Od 1905'KV, 105s. od, ' 107s. 4d,- '' •- 1906;'-... .... 107s. -Id, 103s. Od. . J907 102 ? . Qd. , ■ 102s. Bd. . In tlje sir-years , tlio iivcrsge of the March prices- was: about ■ 2s. ;7-Jd, below the ayorago of the January prices. On this basis.,the uutter in Wellington- to-day, oven, if of the •'choicostMi-: grade, -carriesa-.-prospective English value ; of'Umly v 'l:l6s. l '■ 4jd:f pet; cwt,Oil that basis, what is tho wholesale value of the ' buttor for Wellington consumption? is Value,'of Buttor in Wellington. , Prospective value'in Lqndon next 'Marpli,'if-'osportisd ■ 116s. 4}d. Cost /of -, gbtiing it ;to . London ' • ljuyersi' ; say,.;." . . ... 9s. 4}d. . Net yalue for .London • ... 107s. Od. Cost of wrapping for local trade, ' say ... ■ ... ;... - ... 2s. 6d, . '•' .Net value - for ■. ■- , ■ next' week . ... j ■-...- 109s. 6d, This is eyuivalont to a fraction over UJd. per lb. as tho Wellington wholesale value, and (on the r customary grocer'? profit) Is. Id. rotail, It seems, therefore, that. tho>present retail price of Is, 2d, fixed for the, butt-or solcV in Wellington is quite as, much as the London, prices warrant, . : Prices Will Fall. After March the prices in London always fall, Tjiis is owing to the increased arrivals of buttev from, the'northern countries, Here, are the April f and May figures of Weddel's for sis years;-?-,. ... ' ■ London Prices of Australasian- Choicest Butter. .' Averago price per cwt. ■ " April. May; . . 1902 ... ... 105s. od.' 103s. Od. ' 1903 ... ... 102s. Bd. 100s. 4d. 1904 ... ... 91s. Od. ,86s. 4d. 1905 ... ... 102s.'8d. 955. Bd. - , lOOti ... 100 a. .4d, 1025.-Bd, .1907 ... ; ... 100s. 4d,. 100 a, 4d. Thero was thus in April an average drop of 4s 6d. per cwt. from tho March prices. Oiirthig basis our London April butter, duo to leave Now Zealand in February and March, should be worth wholesale here in those two months Ills, IQJd, per owt., fes Id. per lb. freight, etc., plus id. per lb, for local wrapping. This works'out at lljd. per lb, as tho local wholesale prico of butter in- I'Vbruary aud March. Th/- retail price would then be about Is. Id. as of old. OTHER INFLUENCES. This, however", is all' based on the positW that the present high prices in. England will oontinue, relatively" tq- thos'e of former years,;,pll through tho season., That is an optimistic view, which, we may hope, for the benefit of, our dairy farmers, will bo realised. It, may be asked: Will not an increased shortage of butter from Australasia — as seems likely in view of the drought—causo further inereasos in the London prices? The is, afforded by the following figures, which show that Australasia's shortage is not likely t« be very greatly noticed in Condon's supply:—. Chief sources: of London's butter. , ." last year, • Denmark' ... 87,273 to'ns, Australia '.. ••• 34,023 . Russia ... ... >„ Ne-pr Zealand,.... ... 14,852 „ France ... 13,316 ~ Sv.'-eflon ..1 ~. ... 10,832 Holland,-. ... 8,707 „ Canada ;.. ... 8,220 „ On tho whole, the ponelusion ia justified that the pdea of butter is not likely to be further inc,i:ease<l, and that, on tho contrary, a reduction dwuld. he announced, a" few weeks hence. .. * ■ ; ■