THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Evening Star, Issue 15187, 19 May 1913, Page 6

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

INCREASED PRODUCTION. WHENCE SHIPPED AND WHITHER BOUND. SOME FAULTS AND THEIR REMEDY. The annual report of the South Island Dairv Association just to hand contains a great deal of information interesting not alone to the producer but to the general public. The relative importance to which this industry has leapt is best shown by the Government statistics of exports for the year ended March3l,l9l3. These show the position .to be as follows : Wool £8,244,616 Butter £2,039,805 Cheese 1,888,011 Frozen mutton 3,885,399 The destination of the shipments during the 12 months from June 1, 1912, to date was as follows ; ' Butter Cheese (boxes), (crates). London 570,762 579,608 West of England ... 3,258 70,443 Pacific Coast (Vancouver and ’Frisco) ... 104,754 South Africa 9,985 2,014 The London shipments showed a decrease of 07,948 boxes of butter and an increase of 82,725 crates of cheese as compared with the previous year’s shipments. The West of England shipments showed a decrease of 10,280 boxes of butter and an increase of 10,758 crates of cheese. The Vancouver shipments of butter were double those of the preceding season. The increase on cheese exported to Great Britain from the Dominion is about 25i per cent, (from this must be deducted about 14,000 crates lost in the Turakina, which brings it down to 22*. per cent., to land in London), and there is a decrease in the butter exported to Britain of about per cent, from the Dominion. But the increase in the export of butter to Vancouver and South Africa more than makes up for this decrease to the United Kingdom. —South Island Figures.— The shipments from Lyttelton and Dunedin both in butter and cheese show most satisfactory increases. The shipments of cheese from the Bluff from September to May (the usual export season) are short of last year by about 2,000 crates, but if June shipments are included, this year is a few crates over last year. Southland had a cold, wet spring, which checked milk supply, and the summer has been a cold one, and the autumn colder than usual. It has not been a good season for Southland all along. The dairy export trade of the three South Island ports is shown by the following table: — Butter. Cheese, (boxes). (crates). Lyttelton 51,090 10,545 Dunedin 51,381 21,488 Bluff All of Lyttelton’s butter shipments were destined for London, and of the cheese shipments from that port all, except 1,957 crates shipped to West of England, were also destined for London. The dairy exports for the port showed an increase of 12,454 boxes of butter and 1,564 crates of cheese. The Dunedin shipments of butter comprised 24,157 boxes shipped for London by the Taieri and Peninsula Company, as well as 2,000 boxes shipped by that firm on account of various fanners. The T. and P. Company also shipped 750 boxes of butter for South Africa, and 4,434 boxes for Vancouver. Of the cheese shipments from Dunedin 19,240 crates went to London, 1,778 crates to West of England, and 470 crates were shipped by the T. and P. Company to South Africa. Altot;?ther the Dunedin export ’trade showed for the year a gain of 7,750 boxes of butter and 5,515 crates of cheese over the previous year’s figures. Bluff cheese shipments, of which 68,826 crates went to London and 10,274 crates to West of England, showed an increase of 62 crates exported. —Homo Markets.— The market for cheese and butter lias been _ a great disappointment to all in Now Zealand, more especially the cheese market. Butter has had several adverse conditions to contend with. The unusual mildness of the autumn and winter on the Continent and in Britain caused increased production of butter. The large quantity of secondary quality _ butters constantly landing from Australia had a depressing influence. Australian butter generally, a few choice Western District factories only excepted, has ruled 6s to 8s per cwt lower than the average of New Zealand. The inferiority of much of the Australian butter pulls the market down for their own best butter, and affects New Zealand as well. There seems little doubt (says the report) that butter as well ns cheese suffered from the unwholesome rivalry of many selling agents, many of whom were always nervous and anxious to sell, and there was no real attempt to co-operate and hold up prices, which in “choicest” butter should never have been difficult if our butter had been all in the right hands—the fewer the better. On this subject Mr Ellison, representative of the Rational Dairy Association in London, writing under data 19th March, says:—“ New Zealaul butter, as a matter of fact, is in a class Ire itself, but has been seriously handicapped by other colonial butter. Much better prices could be got for our butter if it was so placed that more control could b; exercised at this end. At present it is spread too much.” —Home Separation.— There is little doubt that the inferiority of much of the Australian butter is due to home separation, and a departure from tire original creamery system, for previous to the coming in of homo separation in Australia their butter topped the London market over New Zealand, but since then Ims gone _ down year by -year. Jjfit us take warning in New Zealand, for the same thing may happen. Home separation is coming rapidly into vogue in New Zealand, and unless the greatest care and supervision is exercised over the collecting of cream, our butter will deteriorate and lose its good name and position on the British market. The caring for and supervision of this collected cream is not an easy proposition. —Margarine’s Popularity.—. Butter has a formidable, antagonist in margarine. In 1912 no'less than 1,352,427 cwt of margarine was imported into Britain, and probably os much margarine is

made in Great Britain as is imported', for there are factories all over the country. Quality has been much improved, and probably hundreds of thousands of people living_ in hotels, lodging-houses, or taking their meals at eating-houses, never eat butter—only margarine—and don’t know it. Grocers push the sale of it, as there is much more profit in its sale than k« that of butter. But. despite these draw backs, New Zealand butter should have maintained a better price, as choicest butter was always scarce, and most of the New Zealand butter was of the class choicest. —The Cheese Situation.— The Sojith Island association have put forward various schemes for uniting to improve matters, and the National Dairy Association have done the same, but no good has come of them, because factories did not anything like unitedly come into these schemes. “Home Rule” government prevails at most factories, and it is not surprising that directors of factories like to manage their own affairs and deal with their own produce as they please. -Now (says the report), the question for consideration is: Should anything more bo attempted by this association in the inteiests of those consigning cheese? It is a most difficult matter. If it were possible for all factories in New Zealand to combine—North and South Island together—and consign their cheese onlv to four of the strongest and best bouses in London for sale, some good would certainly come ot it. Or if North and South Island together agreed to sell monthly or even fortnightly, at one centre or two, the cheese shipments for the month, listed on the lines of the wool sales, some good would be done, as eventually a large number of British houses would have agents here to buy what they required. Factories in Canada consign nothing, but sell everything about monthly. For the first time the quality of our cheese arriving in London has been seriously complained of. Mr Wright, of the Rew Zealand dairy division in London, has found these complaints to be well lounded in many cases, and has duly advised Air Cuddle, our Dairy Commissioner, who issued a strongly-worded and plain statement to factories in a circular dated Ist March, 1910. The matter will be fully discussed at the annual meeting on the 4th June. Messrs Ouddie and Singleton \viil 'bo present, and the GheesemaZcera* Association have asked to be present and confer with directors on the matter. The faults complained of axe bad flavors and openness in the cheese, softness, and too moist cheese. In the North Island some lactones were advised to get more moisture into their cheese. Such advice was against that of the dairy division. This practice never j obtained to any extent in the South Island. The main remedy is to be found m getting better and cleaner flavored milk supplied to the factories, and this has ell along been the main difficulty.