THE BUTTER PROBLEM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 2631, 5 August 1908, Page 3

THE BUTTER PROBLEM.

IS THERE ENOUGH? ■ NEED ' FOR -CAUTION. ;J : The close finish.to .the present: butter seaI ' son ' seems to justify .- a .reference back to Way 10 last, when the large : quantity of butter in,tlie ; public' cold/stores! causod the : factories to decide ,on an ,-oxpOrting policy, v The decision seemed at the time to bo rather - inadvisable 1 jii 'view of the low foreign prices, and the opinion was then expressed in this column that better prices would bo obtained by holding the butter for local sale. Tho exporting of butter since May last has ob'.viously resulted in bic- gains being got by those who retained their stocks for tho local trade, and heavy loss to thoso who did tho exporting. The ■' following,; from -The: Dominion of < May ■ 11, 'will show what was • the .position'of affairs at that time:— ■ V . (Extract from Dominion bf;May,lL) /; "A Press Association message '/states.:— A. meeting held at: Stratford, and convened by- tho National Dairy/Association,'.decided to recommend all butter factories, to ship by "the next. Homo.'Steamer; at: least/twenty per • cent; of; the; butter then; in _ store,and; continue ■ shipments as : seem' desirable.', /■; .. "Whether 'tho - recommendation' f will ' be acted on.is .quite an open question, i.' /.' The - local price .'of butter is still too. ' ■ high to warrant exporting.Some but-. tcrs are retailing in Wellington';'-at Is.- . 2d.,.but many brands arc obtainable at' ; Is. Id. . The rolativo values of. tho local v and' -the /London 'market:, are- shown in, these, figures• : ';'•"//' ~',v/: : -V /'/ " Butter for London:— ' v ';/■' " Price in; London,*'ger lb. . lljd. ; "Freight, etc. ... - 1(1. . ; "Net valuo-• on- Wellington' //• '/'-' ' ' wharves ~ ... •' ••• ' IOJd.-. 11 Butter for Wellington:— \ II London,;, net value ... '' ... 10} d. "Cost of patting, otc. ... ... jd. . "Net wholesale Wellington valuo IOJd. ■/ Apparently, there is no strong caso for ~ exporting till the,; local retail price falls '. below a .shilling a pound. , Moreover,I the likelihood of a drop in the_ London: price appe.ars greater than /the likelihood j ■ of a rise.". './//'■,;'='V/ ■I That report was published on 11. However, it was a case in which the factory ; ' directors 'had 'to decide , for. thomselyos on " the -facts then apparent, and some, of them unfortunately,/as it now' .seems—listeried' to. . tho advice'-, given .at'tlio Stratford* meeting ■ v arid• -shipped-theiribjitter .extent of tho, shipments will .be seen-.'in'.the, ■ sudden' decrease in . tho quantities 'of butter, in store during Juno:— '■ ■ > March 31' . ... 42,711 boxes

1 ... >42,711 boxes

■ April 3D : ' ... ... 70,123 boxes ■ May 31... 71,479 boxes ' ' June 30 'V -. 40,176 boxes The quantity of .butter reported .to have been oxported during. June alone was 16,663 boxes, which is 'rather,'more, than':2o .per cent; of '.the quantity, previously stored. Whoever was I'cspprisible.for calculating the re- ' quiremcnts" of the'local winter trade., made . apparently' a'-very .accurate guess, and it''is . generally- believed that the quantity now in : ! store .will just-see -us-ithrough.': But tho finish .-would- hot" :close if it had not- been 'for the unexpected develop- ■ rnents in-Australia and South Africa. ■ A > limited quantity has-been to those places, and;-'.the.'East; - and ■ further; reduced stocks;'MSome rof :'the butter sent to/Australia '• was', reshipped to; Africa ..and :tlie; East, V and; therefore escaped the Australian, duty' of about 2d. per pound. • ". . A factor to be remembered.in the discussion of tliis question i& that' the stocks of butter now in tho stores aro held chiefly by those ■ factories and firms who -have a local trado to supply. It, is; therefore not likely that any of this portion will be tempted out of' ■ the country .. by the prices ; that.. are likely to be . offered, from-.Australia, apart' from the. question.of duty.' ■ Thero is also the possibility of .the: new season opening in Australia and causing a rapid fall in prices, so that Australian gutter might then'.easily be available, for the New Zealand market. : :

A Trade View. •. . This,view 'is: confirmed by ths statement of , ' ' 'a' Wellington 'butter .manj- who -said to a ; Dominion • representative . .yesterday':—''We ore all right if there is no butter going to Australia, this month; ' But if any is sent over,- it'. will' run; things j closer than is at ; present indicated.lJnder'normal' conditions the 17,000 boxes in;'store at.,the beginning . of this .month are about sufficient to meet the : normal jdemand till the' ineroa.so- begins from the new season':-: ,The. Sydney and Melbourne developments certainly threw tho recent local calculations slightly out of gear, and the, market in New. Zealand is. somewhat excited in consequence. . But tho .people . who hold\the butter now in the stores ■ .aro chiefly those who have local connections to maintain, and they are not likely, to send their butter.'away. When, the" new' season begins, it usually -comes rapidly." . Un; the whole it seems to bo a time for. keeping "one's head .'and closely 'watching for ■(... signs of.the approach of the new season.,