SOUTH ISLAND REPORT

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 125, 29 May 1934, Page 10

SOUTH ISLAND REPORT

The South Island Dairy Association reports for the year ended April 30 that (as at March 31 last) the quantities of butter and cheese graded at- all Dominion ports were as follows:—Butter, 5,691,307 boxes; cheese, 1,453,329 crates. These show an in-ciease-'over .the pievious year-of- 766.818 boxes of butter and 102,959' crates of cheese, which on a butterfat basis lepiebents an increase .in production of appioxima'tely 10 per cent. An analysis of the butter gratlings for the whole' Dominion for the year'ended March 31, 1934, gives the following results:—Finest, 77.94 per cent.; fir5t,.20.95 per cent.; under first, 1.11 per cent. 'The -percentage of finest grade the pievious year was" 80, so there has apparently been a slight, falling-off in quality. To some extent, this no doubt is accounted lor by an increase of about 16 per, cent, in, the total quantity graded for export. Ihe South Island gradings for the last year show:—Finest, 90.12 per cent.; firj,t, -8.17 per cent.; under first, 1.11 per cent. This is a big improvement on the pievious year, when -the percentage of finest giade was 78.91. The North Island supplies about 95 per cent, ot the total output, therefore the higher percentage of finebt giade butter exported from the South Island affects only in a small degree the average quality fpr ,the whole Dominion. ' The North Island percentage of finest grade-for the last-year was 77.43. The iollowing is an. analysis of the cheese gradings • fpr the year:— Finest. First. Second. p.c. : vp.c. p.c. Whole Dominion 24.27 73.96 1.77 North Island .. 19.50 78.50 1.91 ,South Island .. 46.90- 52.01 . 1.09 Complaint is made that direct sailings I from Liverpool to the southern ports have' -been more irregular and inffequent, and the position which now obtains is most unsatisfactory. There was a direct sailing at the end of April, and the" next one will not be until late, in November. Liverpool is v , the shipping port for salt, | cheese bandage, and. goods used by 1 dairy factories, and the cost to South-1 land factories is added to materially if the goods are shipped from London to Bluff, or from Liverpool to Dunedin. ! "We have made direct representations on the matter to the shipping companies in .England, and are in hopes that a better service will be forthcoming. In the meantime we are watching closely the interests of our Southland members, and will- do all we can' to save them extra charges." '