BUTTER PROBITS.

Grey River Argus, 17 July 1922, Page 4

BUTTER PROBITS.

There is a convention in this country that because it is suited for dairy production, those who take advantage of such suitability must be spoon-fed by the State, and must get every encouragement to extract from consumers here, as well us abroad, the highest prices. Thus we see more wage cuts accompanied by rising butter prices. It is a case of the London parity, no doubt, but where is the Government’s were led by the farmers to expect a justification for acting as if there had been a substantial decrease in the cost of living? Why should a rise in the London price of New Zealand dairy produce be immediately reflected in this country? Our salted butter was last aweek quoted at higher price than even -Danish, but it was stated the market was in short supply. The phenomenal advance, at a time when the public were led by the fanners to expect a decline in London prices, is surely a temporary one, and therefore no justification for forcing up prices here so that they will shortly be found to remain well above the London parity. The butter trade is virtually a combine, and any general pooling scheme would be merely a .formality. Considering the history of dairying profits, it is clear that those ; engaged in that industry have no jus- | tification for making the poor mouth I that many of them are now doing. I The average price paid for butter-1 at during the last twenty years is as follows:—

How much higher the return for butter be it is difficult to say, as the 192D22 season has been greatly extended, and the Dominion production of ' butter and cheese, expressed in terms | of butter-fat for the 10 months end- , ed May 31. was 30.85 per cent greater , than for the corresponding ten months Inf 1920.21. There has been a remark- • able recovery from the slump of Dei cember last, when the Imperial Go- ' vernment decided to sell all its old but- | ter, some 860,000 boxes of Australian t nnl New Zealand, which were finally bought by London houses, and much of it sent to the Continent. From that time the market recovered.

Cheese Butter Year Fa <■ 1 o ry Price Factory Price <1. 1901-2 9.25 9.80 1902-3 . . .. 10.30 9.00 190-3-4 . . . . 9.50 7.80 1904-5 9.00 9.64 1905-6 . .. 12.00 10.38 1906-7 . . . . 12-82 10.96 1907-8 .. .. .11.92 10.28 I 90S 9 . 12.94 11.32 1909-10 . . . 12.05 11.10 1910-11 .. .. 11.96 10.52 1911-12 . . .. 14-59 12.10 1912-13 . . . . 13.25 12.02 1913-14 . . . . 14.38 12.00 1914-15 .. .. 18.38 13.81 1915-16 .. .. 19.87 16.82 1910-17 . . . . 19.50 17.00 1917-18 22.25 24.56 1918-19 . 24.62 19.11 1919-20 . . . . 25.20 20.00 1920-21 . . . 29.37 33.00