LOSING A DAIRY PRODUCE MARKET.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1116, 2 May 1911, Page 8

LOSING A DAIRY PRODUCE MARKET.

TRADE WITH SOUTH AFRICA i FAILING. •''Nearly the whole of tho South African trado has heen lost to us this year," said a Wellington merchant to a Dominion representative. The trado referred to was the dairy produce trade, and that with South- Africa means chiefly butter. Inquiries were mado among firms who ' have an African trade. One said that while he could not givo the exact figures ho reckoned 10,000 boxes would cover tho whole of the African butter shipments this .season. That 'was a considerably lessev than had been sent in previous years. ''The time will come/ he continued, "when the South African trade will be lost to us altogether. Tho South African Parliament has voted a large sum of 'money for agricultural development, and when the country is made to produce in something like'proportion v to its extent of rural area, they will not need to. import. I think it is reasonable to expect that in ordinary seasons our trade with South Africa will _ become gradually smaller, and finally disappear. IJut all their seasons are not good. At present they arc in trouble with their cattle, 'on account of the East Coast fever, and certain pests. That, though, is tot the only cause of the falling-off m our trade with that' country. This year South Africa is importing fair quantities, and yet we are not getting the business. The reason is that our -factories are asking so ' high a price that the importers referred to are getting their butter in Sydney:. Sydney can let them have all the butter they want at lOld. (in pats), f.o.b. •'We cannot do it .unless the price is nearlv a. penny higher than that. I ,heard tliat a - Wellington firm got an order for 3000 boxes recently, but could not look at it, becnuso the price indicated with tho order was one that could not be considered by a. firm getting .their butter from the New Zealand factories. Ihe trade, consequently, went to Sydney. A letter I had from Sydney tho other day said that Australian firms had secured several good orders recently, which in former years would have come to Zealand." - Among the other merchants was one who said'that his trade with South Africa had fallen off so much that this year's exports to that country wero less than a quarter of last year's. He accounted for the fact'by the difference in the pnees hero and in Australia. Australia, ho -said, had hal a wonderfully prolific season, free, of drought. They "had so much butter that they wero selling in Sydney at much lower figures than New Zealand factories were askiiif-;. They could' sell butter to the Africans at Ud. a pound less than we could. They could sell at 101 d. f.0.b., against our 11 Jd., and then there was a halfpenny advantage in freight in favour of Australia.' Wo could ship to Australia for id. if the butter was. sent ' as ordinary cargo, but the prico Jd. if tho refrigerator was used. Tho freigat from Australia to South Africa was -Jd. .- This merchant .also thought that in, a fewyears South i Africa would need to look io 'no one to buy her butter from, and that -later still sho would be an exporter. ; It was stated in; one office that the superior quality of . New Zealand butter ■was standing to it,- and it was really for ■ the superior butter that the few orders ; which had come to (ho country this yiar ; had been sent. Tho buyers had been pr«- : pared to pay tho higher prico for the better article. For the year ending March 31 the shipments of butter to South Africa totalled -12;998 boxes (325 tons), and the shipments of cheese 552 crates (37 tons).