NEW ZEALAND BUTTER

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3373, 3 October 1931, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER

SEALED TINS THE GERMAN MARKET. London, August 21. A message from Wellington recently asserted that the experimental shipment of butter to England in hermetically sealed containei-s had proved so successful that a larger shipment was about to be made. This statement is rather misleading, and it is well that exporters should know the facts of the case. Fifty tins each containing 541 b of butter arrived recently, but this is not the first of the shipments. " A consignment was sent from Massey College some time ago. From inquiries made in Tooley Street it appears that the tinned butter is in better condition than that sent in the ordinary wooden boxes. One gathers, however, that the wholesale and retail trades are not interested in the tinned produce. The firm handling the butter have had offers for it, but they have not so far sold, desiring to get as many opinions as possible on the new packet as a market proposition.

Although it is generally admitted that the butter is an excellent article, the trade, always conservative, do not welcome the new container. In the first place, it is a round tin, a shape they have never been used to. It is much more difficult to open than an ordinary box. The wire surrounding the lid is apt to break, but even if this does not happen, the fingers may be. cut on the rough edges of the tin. When the tins get to the retail stores there may be men or women quite unskilled in opening the tin, and the trade is not disposed to place this new responsibility upon the shop assistants. Though it is generally agreed that the butter is very good, the superiority of quality is not so great as to overcome the obiections to the containers. Prejudices have been overcome in the past, however, and there is, of course, the possibility that they may be overcome in this matter. It has been suggested that greater success would follow if the same vacuum process were used for linings for the present wooden boxes. The hermetically sealed lining could then be of thinner metal or other light material, and the system would permit of any wood being used for the boxes.

Germany's Influence.

The effect of German action upon the British butter market was demonstrated during the recent financial crisis, and proved beyond a doubt that Germany is a very important factor in the butter trade. Germany imports butter from Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Latvia, and Holland, and this in spite of the high tariffs imposed a year ago. In the weeks before the crisis New Zealand butter was selling in London at 116 s per cwt. and seemed as firm as a rock. During the two weeks of the crisis the imports of butter into Germany fell by 20 per cent. Continental supplies were diverted to London and the price of New Zealand butter fell to 109 s. The financial position was adjusted, butter supplies to Germany again became normal, and the price of New Zealand butter in London rose to 116 s. These facts show only too plainly what might happen to our market if Germany decided that the imports should be curtailed. A reduction of only 15 per cent, would make a considerable difference to the prosperity of the New Zealand farmer. As for future prospects, apart from national disasters, the conditions seem favourable for a continuation of increase of present prices. The consumption of imported butter from January to July this year has been at the rate of 7000 tons a week, which is a record. Last year 341,400 tons were consumed, or at the rate of 6565 tons a week. There is certainly not 7000 tons of imported butter a week in sight for the next few months. That being so, there seems no reason for any fall in the price.