CASEIN PRICES DROP

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 September 1938, Page 12

CASEIN PRICES DROP

EFFECT OF WAR TN CHINA. I PER PHEBB ASSOCIATION.) WELLINGTON, September 5. During the last 18 months the price of casein has dropped from £7O a ‘-on fob (New Zealand currency) to about £4O a. ton, and the decrease is causing manufacturers concern. At present one of the most important buyers is Japan, and the decrease in purchases by this country, because of difficulty in obtaining exchange permits, is said to be the cause for the drop in price. Although diffident about expressing an opinion, Mr. H. E. Pacey, general manager of Joseph Nathan and Company (New Zealand), Ltd., who aie interested in the casein trade, admitted that there was concern about the drop in price. He said that at the last sale of which he had knowledge, casein had sold to Japanese buyers for £4O a ton, and appearances were that it might go a little lower. From the point of view of the producer, £4O was barely an adequate price, a reasonable return being considered as being between £5O and £6O. The producer expected to receive about 2d per lb for butter-fat. The decrease in purchases by Japan is attributed to the effect of the war in China.. Ever since the war started the market for casein in Japan has been spasmodic. “The market is in a depressed condition, and it is difficult to assess its value,” said Mr. Pacey, when asked what casein would be worth at present. The normal output of casein in New Zealand was about 3000 tons, but the trend was for less to be manufactured, Mr. Pacey continued. The exchange permit position had become more acute during the last two or three months. Casein is used in Japan principally as a dressing for art paper and as an adhesive for ply-wood. It is also used to a lesser extent for the. manufacture of imitation ivories and plastic goods. Besides Japan, casein is exported to England and occasionally to the United States and Canada. Germany was formerly a good customer, but economic and financial reasons have caused the export to that country to be reduced very much in recent years. It was used in Germany for making cheese, but the Germans are now producing their own casein.