THE HOME BUTTER TRADE.

Evening Star, Volume 12869, Issue 12869, 19 July 1906, Page 7

THE HOME BUTTER TRADE.

PASTEURISATION RECOMMENDED,

WEST OF ENGLAND SERVICE

DEFECTS. [Special to thb Stab.] AUCKLAND, July 19. Mr Samuel Lowe, representing the Lon- • don firm of W. Weddell and Co-i colonial provision merchants, who is on a visit to j Auckland,, has been interviewed by a re- I presentative of the 'Herald' upon the. conditions of the Horns butter trade and the ! position occupied by the output of New ' Zealand dauries. On being asked what he thought of the prospects of the coming season, Mr Lowe said: " 1 consider that New Zealand supplier will show an increase of from 1,000 to '2,000 tons, but this will depend largely upon the price of cheese The outlook for New Zealand butter for next season is on the whole very favorable,although I am inclined to doubt whether the extraordinary high level of prices hitherto prevuiing will be maintained. The bulk of our foreign supplies comes from Denmark, Russia, France, Holland, and Sweden, but more than half of the produce from foreign countries comes from Denmark. The receipts from Denmark, however, show a falling off for the past few years." Reporter: "To what do you attribute this?" Mr Lowe: "Partly to the increased imports and severe comipetition in quality of colonial butter during the winter. months. But it mußt not be supposed that the Danish output is diminishing. On the contrary, it is increasing, for the Danes are finding other markets than England for their butter, and Germany has become an important customer. Argentine, Belgium, and Norway are slowly making headway in the Home market. The German imports, are practically extinct, while the United States supply rs very erratic, and on the whole a decreasing quantity." "Perhaps you will say something of the prices _ ruling last sea-on?"—"Willingly. The high quality of New Zealand butter has secured for it am enviable place on the British market. It is held in high esteem by the trade and by consumers, and the -position was {strengthened bv the excellence of last season's .output. If the butter couldbe placed on our market in September, instead of November, which is gene rally the case, it would hold a still stronger position _at Home, and Australia would .find in it a much more severe competitor. The last season was coro>picn©us for the hich prkips realised Taking the price of New Zealand and Austral ; aii choio«st bntter 'rom September to April last, it showed an averacre of £5 9s lOd per owt; but the DnnMi b"tteT for the same period averaisjed £5 19s 9d. So you will see that New Zealand has yet a good deal of leeway to make up before reaching the prices realised by the Dane«. although I believe it to be not only possible bnt probable that what the Danes can do New. Zealand can do." "You wfll perhaps make a sueEnestion by which that pnd can be attained?"— "Well, the first thnag to do. in my opinion is to insist upon general Pasteurisation.. AH the butter that comeo into the Fnglish m-nxket from Denmark is Pasteurised, and T think we may credit the Danes with what they are about. If they think thin is necessary, so near as they are to the British markets, how much more necessary is it in the case of so distent a supplier as New Zealand, and especiallv in cases where Ufa* practice of 'cream oollect-i-"e' is Ibemg followed, as it rs in parts of this colony? It r= -"m-possible to make good bntter from mixed crea,m of various ages. It is a chemical impossibility. My suggestion is thait thoee people who' separate their own mflik should have their cream dealt with separately, and churned by itself. This -would have the effect of showma: them, by the price realised bv their butter, HM the practice was unprofitable, and it world be discontinued." The subject of butter-blend ; ng and butter-faking was referred to, and Lowe said : " There can be no objection to batterblending so long as butter is mixed with butter ard no artificial material. The result of the blending is an article of even quality, color, texture, and flavor. This is _ more satisfactory to the consumer, retailer, and merchant. The qualities are indicated by the color of the printing on the packages. The trade know the brands used by the respective shippers, and they know what they are buying. It is perfectly legitimate. I see no objection to blendirg New Zealand butters for the Home market." "Then perhaps it could be done in New Zealand?"—"No; because you have not expert knowledge here, and, besides, the testes of,-the London market mav be quite different from.thos- in, say. the Manchester market. It would be well-nigh impossible for the blending to be done in New Zealand. After all the merchant's chief aim is to supply the article most in demand. Is that not so? I grant you that adulteration should be put down with an iron hand, and I hold that the sale of mixtures of butter with other fats • should be made a felony, unless the composition of the mixture is made known to the purchaser. Fining is useless, for the fraud of adulteration is very remunerative, and it can only be dealt with effectually by imprisonment. Now, New Zealand butter is hard and Danish butter is comparatively soft, but the housekeeper prefers the Danish even at a higher price, because it takes less to cover a given area of bread than with New Zealand butter, lhesc are points which the merchants have to consider, and blending is absolutely necessary to meet the requirements of the markets."

Mr Lowe emphasised the need for earlier shipments from New Zealand, and incidentally mentioned the West Coast service. This service," he said, "has not up to the present fulfi'led the hopes of traders in Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, and Manch st r. Die first steamers which left New Zealand on December 20 did not reach Bristol, the first port of call, until the very end of February, and some of the supporters of the new venture, who had ordered their October to March shipments to come by this route, did hot receive their October butter for fully three months after the October butter shipped by the two mail lines had been received in' London. There was an improvement in the later steamers of this service, and if a still further improvement in the direction of speed takes place it will greatly benefit the sale of New Zealand produce in the western counties. But the reduction of freight, if kept permanently below that to London, may not be beneficial to the New Zealand producer in the end, for the difference in freight enables the West of England importer to successfully compete with those in London by underselling, not only in his own territory, but also halfway up to London. This competition must drag down the price, and the reduction will ultimately fall upon the New Zealand producer. So long as it remains as it is the West Coast service will not make much difference in prices unless it becomes a fortnightly one. Then freight on both services must be equalised.