BUYING OF BUTTER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22018, 26 January 1935, Page 10

BUYING OF BUTTER

THE NEW YORK DEMAND " • A HEALTHY INFLUENCE NEW ZEALAND ADVANTAGE The demand for butter from New York is proving a healthier influence in the London dairy produce market than anything experienced for some years. The effect of American buying can hardly be measured in terms of tons, the amount purchased from London in a fortnight being only 400 tons, which is about ono-third of a day's supply for Great Britain. It has had a wider bearing and has stimulated the market at a time when conditions are generally slow. In addition to London sales, small purchases have been made in Auckland for shipment to New York. Butter has been bought for February shipment at 9£d per lb. f.o.b. Forward sales to London have also been made at this price, which is equal to about 84s per cwt. London. New Zealand dairy farmers may take some pleasure in noting that Dominion butter on the London market is firm at up to 80s per cwt., a rise of 4s over the past week, while the Danish market is dull at 116s per cwt., a fall of 2s for the week. Since the beginning of the year Danish has declined in price by 5s per cwt., while New Zealand has risen by Bs. The premium paid for Danish is now about 31s, compared with 56s some four weeks ago. The wide disparity in prices for New Zealand and Danish butters has been most exasperating to producers in the Dominion. During the past two or three years Danish prices consistently have shared more than New Zealand in any market improvement, and in addition have reaped the benefit of advances not reflected in New Zealand prices. This can be traced to increased Continental buying, but a new influence has arisen in New York buying, which favours colonial butter and not Danish.

It is a tribute to the keeping quality of New Zealand butter that it can Jbe taken half-way round the world to London and then half-way back to New York, a distance altogether of about 15,000 miles. Danish butter has a high acid content and its keeping quality is much inferior to that of New Zealand. It is marketed on a week to week basis in Great Britain, and it could not survive a journey across the Atlantic Ocean.