BUTTER CHEAPER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 274, 12 August 1908, Page 3

BUTTER CHEAPER.

HEAVY FALL IN MELBOURNE. LOCAL REDUCTION 1 MUST FOLLOW. - A Press; Association cablegram from Melbourne of August 11 says There is a material reduction in the price of butter. Choicest'is'quoted fourpence perlb.'lcss. ' The exact causo of the reduction is' not Btatcd,, and until .'that is 'known it is diffi-, cult'to guess whether'the fall should be per-' manent and progressive,: or" only temporary. The most likely explanation is tliat the now season's output has increased sufficiently to remove, all fear of'further, shortage. If. this provo to bo tho case, then (as was stated in; The Dominion last Wednesday) rapid fails, in prices must be expected, and Australian butter'may soon bo ' available tor export to' "New Zealand. To meet such a contingency'.the holders' of stocks in New Zealand would be compelled substantially to ,reduce prices. ~ . • In the'- absence of reliable figures ' it is difficult to "say what is the present. price -of i butter in' Melbourne! But so., far as | the matter aifects New Zealand we may take it ,that ; ,the Australian offers' for'; New Zealand butter, which were reported to be Is. 4d. por ib., f.o.b. last week, will now be doss than Is., per pound. With'a falling market the Australian "offors to New Zealand are likely now to be' substantially below the ruling values ° (if they make any offers at'all) to allow for further falls during transit. ' The fall.'in 'Australia a,nd its probable causes, must' apparently: stop at once any further exports of New Zealand butter, to that' continent, and ' ill the supplies now in the .New Zealand stores will consequently be dependent on the local demand.- Local butter" magnates h'ayo had their'dream of butter at eighteenpenee a pound for /.a few days, and: it is probable, that there will now come the awakening. 'At the same'time it must be remembered that the supplies. iii the ' stores are none too plentiful for the apparent local requirements,' and 'factory directors have' rio need, to' sacrifice wildly because prices have collapsed, in .Australia. ""But an immediate fall of--a. penny,' two-pence, or "even three-' pence from the Is. 3id. now quoted for bulk butter, seems inevitable if the causes of the Australian chango be what they seem. These .calculations,. , however, are' on the assumption that the new season's supplies in Australia liavo appreciably increased. There is-a very weak that the fall is merely due to arrivals of supplies from out-' Bide or to the heavily reduced local consumption a few days .ago,-, and .in this event a recovery is possible. , But the great extent of the'drop makes this theory 'almost impossible. ; • v.- -. ' On the whole, therefore,,it looks as though the bottom is at last' out of the butter boom. • , . ■ ■

. A Contradictory Report. Tho Department of Industries and Com- " wirce, issued from- its Wellington office yes'•&siday; tKe following message concerning-a ■Jt'Sjlegrani received by'it at noon: — > .if ','' T °o 'Department'of- Industries and Comnl|>"rco has received a cabled advice from its '""Mblbourne agent, stating; that- a butter fam•'inV:exists in Victoria. Butter is being.-sold if^tj^'lOd..wholesale,-and the market is ris■Jnfgi-'' Tho cable also • states that there is a , I'fayi demand for fat cattle, there'being • /tactically no : cattle fit-for the market in at present." ; It'seems very probable that -this- cablegram is belated, l - for- when«itestates'that '■■butter is being ' ,old at Ts. '10d.'wholesale, and the market is risiu'gj'-'.it describes'what 1 was the'state-of-tho"market ago. Tlie Press' Association message'appai'ently de- ' Bcribes. later changes. •*-' What AustraHanWcwspapers Say. The fbiloTi'ing paragraphs' iarefrom Australian newspapers:received last evening:— f Sydney '-'Daily Telegraph," August 5. ■ ;. Butter.—Specially flavoured . brands, "2005 : ., : prime' :1725.. to 1765.; : seconds, ' *160s. to'l7os.; pastry, 150s. per cwt. '. ' : Butter' supplies wero ' scarce, and agents were:, finding difficulty in filling ' orders. It was reported that the' whole-sale.price-in: Melbourne"had.'risen to'l.Si,. 10d., with the prospect of reaching ,2s. 'A letter has been received from London ; -stating that stocks .there would be light. . "'to open the new' season, and good prices , might be : expected for • early • shipments. .'lt: was advisable that'small consignments arrive-as early as possible in-Novr "ember; ' .. • " '' ' -.' ' : *■'' The shipments of butter -from Sydney .; ' for the week ended Saturday last, accordi'- ing to the; Custom House returns,/, ■ amounted to.only.s3.boxes, .of .which 30 'C boxes went to.the South Sea'lslands, 10 boxes to Ceylon .and India,. 7\ boxes to fl'-New Caledonia, and '3 boxes each to ■ * German New Guinea and. the Straits. ' " The. imports of butter into Sydney for the past week amounted to 141 'boxes from Queensland.. _ : .- ' Early ' in ' April last choicest butter ' was quoted in Sydney at 100s.' per cwt., and to-day an advance is .made to 200s. Even on August 1 (only five days ago) the prico was' 1585.,, so that there has been an advance of 425. per ; cwt (4Jd'. per lb.) in that short period. There is . a demand for Melbourne, but even so, : with one dairy 'cow in this Stato to ' r every . two people, tho' prico now quoted . seems fabulous.' Our butter .in London , is"B4s. fjer cwt;'cheaper tlian it is here. ''Sydney' Morning .Herald," August. 5.. '. Owing' to.' the .stormy weather, and' *'• the unsafe- conditions for coastal ship- ; ping, the supplies which are greatly V'needed, to replenish vth'e , scanty stocks . -. :'!"in dairy produce havo "been unavoidably , g ?Adelayed. There .is ■ practically not one ' Yi■ Abx of the butter' on hand" which recently Arrived from the Richmond River. SBV Ahey wero at onco snapped up at firm i' {J "ates, and agents have'.now' practically •' 'Cl'Ho stocks' on- band. Supplies expected by If! Vail have been delayed on account of »r tho '-'heavy rains preventing their cartage to 'therailways,/, and shipments. fromMoruy'a aro-not expected for sometime," as the boats' are barbound." It was decided to : again advance the prices, riso'Of. 203.. per, cwt. will be charged from "to-day, making superfine brands 200s". ■ Sussex "Street merchants met..yesterday. afternoon, i and, becauso of the price of,, butter in Victoria. and the.,scarcity of :.supe^fino- brands for our,. ,own re--quirements, decided to further increase the local wholesale prices by 20s. per cwt. This represents a wholesale; price of -is.. 10d.;p0r.1b.,. and in.all probabil-' •ity' tho retail price from, to-day will be ■least, an even 2s.'per. lb. Such'a high ; Tato has not to the Sydney marj- ' ket for 'seventeen years. -In' 1902 tho !' wholesale rate was Is. 9d., and ten years I previously it 'was at the samo rate, but F'lV'the price of-2s. has not beeu asked by ..•Wholesale houses -in Sussex Street since. v 'Jie-.vear 1891. In '1890 up to 2s. 6d. ib. ruled, but this was, cxtraordin- • i.-rry, b'ix-nusa. of' tho maritime strike. -./• With..this'exception tho present price of rtbutte'r has only been exceeded on com\r,i lively few occasions- since 1872. y V'lft cause of this latest advance is, in a '■.■t. \rJ. due to the scarcity caused, by tho : t'jvo-.ather. but more particularly to de- . being made-on our supplies by ', and Tasmania. Merchants • vcii'-ii asked yesterday if this extroordin-n.-y rate was likely to bp continued : 3h, :nk from the question, which means of course that, if conditions do not improve, famine prices might, indeed, be . ytt realised. • Melbourne " Argus," August 4 // - . .The butter market continues to show an ' upward tendency,- and,-although, owing' 'to yeaierday'not being a market day, no i : -'further general'advance .has yet taken place locally, some business - was .' doiio ' yesterday at.ls. 10d., or an advance of, • "*; 2il.' on Friday's price for best Victorian ; - ' butter, "it is considered possible that by ■ Wednesday tho market may further adi) " vsnce to 2s. per lb. About 1500 cases ar-

rived from Sydnoy and Brisbane yesterday, mainly in pursuance of. previous orders at lower rates; and it is now almost impossible to make fresh purchases for Melbourne, oven at tho advanced rate of 182s. per cwt. for .choicest brands, which is almost a nominal quotation. "A moderate quantity of New Zealand butter is expected to arrive in Melbourne at tho end of the week.

Melbonrno " Age," August 1: — : At present there seems, to be every: prospect 'of Victoria experiencing a butter famine—a somewhat remarkablo <!ondition of affairs for a. State in which agriculture is the main industry. Choice 'makes advanced another 2d. on tlie wholesale market yesterday, bringing tho price to Is. Bd. Tho householder who purchases from the retail grocer will now have to pay the high rate of Is. lOd. per lb. Tho immediate outlook is gloomy, as the trade anticipates a further early increase to 2s. per lb. Possibly some relief may come from New Zealand, as supplies from the Dominion could be landed here, duty paid, at about Is. 6Jd., but, relying oil' oiir own "and -inter-State, sources, the indications are that high rates will rule until well into September. During the drought- year of 1902 the choicest Victorian brands stood for about a week in August at Is. Bd., but the shortage of supplies on that' occasion was duo to large exportations to the drought stricken districts of Queensland and the northern parts.of New South Wale's.. . , '" According to the' statement of• a, leading butter'' salesman. yesterday, the conditions prevailing in Victoria .this winter ...aro the worst -in his experience of the past 30 years. Dairy cattle .in, all parts of tho State, he says, are in a poor condition ; many have been sent to the other States, and large lumbers have died, consequently many-weeks must pass oro , an improvement 'in the local stock qan be ' expected... .The serious position .may. bo. judged from the', fact that, instead ,of 1200. eases of butter coming to hand from > the country yesterday, only 500. arrived, the ' Western district supplying 350 . eases. Tho weekly consumption of but- ' ter in Melbourne is from 100 to 120 tons. During tlie week ended July. 26 only 79J- tons of locally made butter and 28 tons of cream camo.. into the market. 1 In the corresponding period of last year 200 tons of butter and 104J tons of cream wero received; ' During June last the.following supplies of butter were received from the other-ii States;— New South' Wales, 886,9581b.; Queensland, 522,3881b.; South Australia, 26321b;; Tasmania, 22331b.; total, 1,414,2111b. Gradually the shortening of the home supplies .'has necessitated a'.curtailment of tho orders for this Stato, with tho .result that during the first three weeks of July only 783,5221b., came to-hand from the; other . 'States... This; quantity - was-made up' as follows:—New, South Wales, 576,1841b.; - Queensland, 207,3381b. A portion of this butter, of course, was re-exported largely to Western Australia. This week'only 1500 cases came from tlip other States, and but half of this ,shipment was in fulfilment of local ■ orders. Usually at this-period of tho year Vic- -. toria is a butter exporter, the first con-signments-being .sent. away -as: follows •" during the past.three years:—l9os, August 1; 1906, July 18; .1907, July 17. Tlie opinion' of the trado is .that- no Victorian butter will bVidxported this year until the end of September.

Referring to the present- position, Mr. P.'J. Carroll, acting chief dairy espert, said:—; -'•* '•*=••' " "I do not see any prospect of. a drop .' in the prices until the end of September, . in-faot,« I ; nßiitiefpato ~ t h4t; i tbe' wholesale - rate will touch 2s. Tho reason is: that we cannot expect large consignments from the otlior States 1 ,:-and there-is little prospect of . local .supplies meeting tho demand for some weeks' to come. A large'-.-- '• Sorcentage- of dairy-cows - have died.lairy cows that calvo' iri Majr,. June, or July usually milk right through the winter, and come into 5 full profit in the spring.. Owing to the'scarcity- of .'feed,'.' however,-theso cows have had.to be.dried off, and even' with-the advontf : -f)f spring .they will yield'no 'milk. ber of dairy cattle also 1 have been exported .to other States. Many of them are returning, to. the Melbourne, market as beef. Many more will be absorbed by the rapidly expanding dairy business of Now, South Wales. :.Owing to their low condition many of,the dairy cows remaining hero have not got into calf, and those ./ that liavo will bo 1 so weak as to be less profitable thaniusually' is the case. All.' theso circumstances" tend ,to' prevent'a local recovery even when the ':'spring comes. When the' mild weather arrives at the end of ' September, ' perhaps we shall then be able to meet our local requirements. To my roin'd there is every . indication'of a-,butter famine." ;. . .