Quality of Butter

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 190, 10 May 1934, Page 11

Quality of Butter

Sir, —A great deal has appeared in the columns of your paper recently with reference to the poor quality of New Zealand butter, as sold to the public in England ; and there are instances where New Zealand visitors to England . have returned with unfavourable comment on the quality of New Zealand produce. About eighteen months ago an Ashburton county dairy-farmer went to England, and has since been farming there in the Midlands with his aged parents.He is in a position to speak of New Zealand butter as he knew it here in NewZealand, and to give his opinion now as he, knows it in England. He writes as follows from Chippers Warden, Oxfordshire, under date of February 2, 1934: — ■“I thought probably a few of my impressions of the retail market for dairy produce here might be of interest to you. The local price for New Zealand, or more often ‘Empire’ butter, is now 9d. per lb. In very few shops here in the Midlands can New Zealand butter be purchased that has not been blended with other butter. One factory I know in the West of England purchases large quantities of New Zealand butter, and I am satisfied it emerges from there as finest West of England or Devonshire butter. The local price for Devonshire butter is about 1/5 per lb. In my opinion New Zealand butter should not be blended, as ‘Empire’ butter has not the quality of New Zealand butter. Each provision store here sells butter done up in its own papers, but blended, and in nearly every case labelled ‘Empire.’ If each New Zealand butter factory could have its own market (by this I mean that each factory should supply certain districts here), the reputation of your butter would be enormously increased. You can take it from me that pure New Zealand butter is unsurpassed by any other country’s. “New Zealand lamb is selling very well here just now, but even in this there is a certain amount of dishonest trading, in the country towns. In the hot weather last summer one butcher I know had more meat than he could dispose of, so he took the remainder to the town, and the frozen meat people cleared it for him as ‘Prime Canterbury.’ ”

It would appear from the foregoing, that if New Zealand butter is being purchased by West of England factories, it .can be taken for granted that it is not the worst of New Zealand butter that they are putting up under their own brands, and this, I think, speaks volumes for the quality of the New Zealand article. On the other hand, if New Zealand visitors to England are disgusted with the quality of New Zealand butter as sold to the English public, then what is this inferior butter that the New Zealand visitors complain of? i From the letter quoted above, it would appear that New Zealand butter is suffering from the reputation allotted to it, but earned by “Empire” butter, the greatest proportion of which might possibly be foreign inferior quality. If the British consumers, when they, ask for New Zealand butter, receive this inferior blended article, it is obvious that they will not ask again for New Zealand produce. One can only come to the conclusion that it is useless for the New Zealand Dairy Produce Board or the New Zealand Government to continue to spend large sums in advertising New Zealand butter in England until they can ensure that it is pure New Zealand butter that the English publie is receiving. . It* would appear the only course that would ensure this is the establishing of a greater number of New Zealand patting factories in Britain, and the employment of salesmen to actually wait upon the retail shops, or some modified scheme along these lines. It is obvious that the British people in Chippers' Warden, Oxfordshire, are not receiving the quality of New Zealand butter as the above correspondent knew it in Ashburton county. New Zealand.— I am. etc.. L, R. CLARKE, General manager, Ashburton 00-op. Dairy Factory Co., Ltd.