THE CHEESE MARKET.

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 39, 15 August 1921, Page 7

THE CHEESE MARKET.

Reporting on the cheese market as on 12th August, Messrs. Dalgety's, London, cable states:—

"Market firm But quiet. Canadian: Coloured 130s to 1345, white 132s to 138s. New Zealand: Coloured ' 130s ,to 1365; white, 132s to 140s. Australian: 120s to 1305."

Mr. J. T. Martin, of, Wright, Stephenson, and Co., in speaking to a representative of The Post on Saturday, said he had noticed Mr. Maurice Nathan's remarks in the press on the outlook for cheese. "I agree with Mr. Nathan," said Mr. Martin, "that the outlook for cheese and butter, as far as it is" possible to gauge the position from this end, seems very good; but there is no gainsaying the fact that last season at this | period the same optimistic feeling was in evidence, and many factories "which could have sold easily at Is 2d to Is 2jd refused' to do so, thinking that they would get at least Is 3d, with the result that the 75 per cent, of the New Zealand factories consigned their cheese, struck a bad market, and, according to my figuring, lost over a million pounds sterling—and that is figuring on a conservative basis. The price at which .New Zealand cheese has opened up again this season, namely lid to llgd, is an abnormal price, taking into account the whole history of cheese in this country. .Never since the coming into operation of insulated freight has lid been exceeded, Excepting last. year. Factory directors, therefore, in electing to consign instead of accepting these high prices, are shouldering responsibilities which might later seriously reflect to their discredit, as ojciirred last year when several factroies which had refused offers of over Is 2d, elected to consign and paid out to their suppliers at such a high rate that the Consigning houses had ultimately to make reclamations, and, in consequence, these factories are in the difficult'" position with their suppliers today of either demanding from those suppliers rebates on over-payments made for butter-fat or to adjust the payments out of the new season's, supplies. The danger facing the dairy farmers in this country is the risk they are apt. to /incur through consigning practically the whole of their output - to London to agents who, after all, have lio interest in keeping up the prices but whose sole desire is to make such arrangements that they can lift the drafts on maturity and dispose of the output as quickly as possible and at the best price procurable, if those same agents had bought a proportion of thccheese or butter at a high price it would be to their interest to maintain the price, otherwise they themselves would be losers. In seasons, therefore, where New Zealand sells from 25 to 35 per cent, of herMairy produce* outright, the buyers become interested in maintaining prices for the proportion consigned and it has the tendency of working to the advantage of the consign-' ing factories.