APPREHENSION CREATED.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 122, 22 April 1940, Page 10

APPREHENSION CREATED.

INROADS OF MARGARINE. DAIRY BOARD’S VIEW. The statement that ibc Now Zealand Dairy Produce Board is very apprehensive as to the future because of tbc inroads of margarine in the English produce market was made by the board’s .'chairman (Mr IV. E. Hale) to the board’s ward conference in Palmerston North to-day. “The board lias been receiving regular information as to the position in England, To-day in. England the best margarine is selling at, 9d per pound against national butter at Is 7d per pound. That margarine has been vitaminised and is sold as containing the same vitamins as butter. It is available in unlimited quantities, whereas butler is rationed, originally at the rate of four ounces a week and now at the rale of eight ounces per person a week. Soon after the outbreak of war the grocers found that they were being left with butter on their bands because people who bad never previously used margarine were satisfied with it. Moreover, with the very great, disparity in tho price—and much cheaper margarine than the 9d a pound article is available there, too —people have given thought to 'whether butter was worth the difference, and some, unfortunately for us, have decided that in their case it is not. “It is not now possible to buy butter by brand in England. One cannot go into a shop and ask for a pound of New Zealand butter. All you can get is a pound of Government butter; that butter may bo Now Zealand to-day and Latvian tomorrow. Is it any wonder that, under these conditions, margarine is making inroads into blitter sales ? The board has given much thought to this question and has urged the Minister of Marketing to advertise in England and let, the British consumers know the part the dairy industry is playing in New Zealand in helping to win the war, and let them know, too, that once hostilities are ov.-r the highest quality New Zealand butter will again be available under its own name.” Mr Hale quoted briefly from two letters received recently from New Zealanders living in London. One of_ these stressed the need for advertising New Zealand butter in face of the severe competition by margarine. “It is "not. the Dairy Board that/ lias stopped advertising in London, because this is carried out by the Marketing Department. The board agreed that it is unwise to drop advertising, a.nd has written Hon, IV. Nash on the point urging that advertising be undertaken,” Mr Halo added. A groat new field of buyers lias been opened up for the margarine interests without cost to them, and it will require a tremendous sales effort on our part to once again popularise our butter when the war is over. That is another reason why we in the industry would like to see" costs lowered rather than the priceraised too high, for the greater the disparity between the. price of margarine and the price of butter the greater will bo our difficulty in the future. Wo believe that the first step should be taken at cnco and should consist of judicious publicity at the London end. and we have written to Mr Nasli to this effect.” RAW MATERIALS. LAST WEEK’S CLOSING RATES. LONDON, April 20. Friday’s closing prices for raw materials were as follow, those for April 12 being shown in parentheses:— Cotton. —Liverpool quotation, good American middling, spot, 8.09 d a lb (8.12 d); May delivery, 7.99 d a lb (8d). Rubber. —Para. 14d a lb (123 d) ; plantation smoked ribbed sheet, 11 l-16d a lb (same). Copra.—Not quoted. Jute: Not quoted. Linseed oil: £42 10s a ton (same). Turpentine. 53s 4d a cwt (535),