GHEE MANUFACTURE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22205, 4 September 1935, Page 7

GHEE MANUFACTURE

RESEARCH IN DOMINION MARKETING DIFFICULTIES PROBLEM A NATIONAL ONE "The placing of New Zealand-made ghee on the Indian market presents very great difficulties commercially," said Professor W. Riddet, of the Massey Agricultural College yesterday. He explained that a considerable amount of work had been done for at least a year with the object of producing a ghee that would be attractive to the Indian buyer. Anything for sale in India would have to conform very closely to what the purchaser there was used to and investigators had met with considerable technical difficulties in the matter of colour and taste. Much of the competition with native ghee, stated Professor Riddet, was coming from manufactured fats, containing a high proportion of synthetic ! adulterants, mainly made from coconut, palm nut, soybean and peanut oils, in addition to whale oil. The texture of these had been brought to the right pitch by hvdrogenation. At first these were underselling the Indian product, but later a heavy import duty was put on synthetic ghee. To overcome this the large industrial concerns established their own factories in Bombay and Calcutta, and the product was sold either direct or blended with the cheap native ghee. Return On Butter-iat At present the best ghee was selling at from lOd to Is 3d per lb., New Zealand currency, and in order to compete against this a New Zealand producer would have to place his article on the Indian market at a price of 8d a lb., c.i.f. and e. Even when butter was down to 75s per cwt. it would be necessary to obtain about Is per lb., c.i.f. and e. for ghee to make it a better paying proposition than butter. Dealing with some of the technical difficulties that had confronted experimenters in the Dominion, Professor Riddet pointed out that there were two forms of ghee in India, that from the cow and that from the buffalo. The buffalo ghee was colourless, owing to the absence of carotin, had a high melting point and was of coarse texture. Although there were difficulties in decolourising the brighter New Zealand butter-fat without destroying its power of reabsorbing essential flavours, he was confident that these would be overcome. Cow fat ghee was more yellow than that from the buffalo, but was again less yellow than New Zealand butter-fat, there again being a problem in this case. The Problem o! Flavours The problem of flavours was likely to be a complex one, continued Professor Riddet. Owing to the method of manufacture in India peculiar flavours were obtained by the addition of certain substances which contained high acid-producing organisms. The milk after one of these had been added was stored for as much as a month and the ghee then made by the simple process of clarification. "Although there are undoubtedly difficulties in the way of New Zealand entering the Indian market," Professor Riddet concluded, "the matter should not be cast aside lightly. The time may yet come when the dairy industry, by ' relieving an already overburdened butter market, might win in the aggregate by having such an outlet for surplus butter-fat. At the same time the matter is a national one and not for individual factories, who cannot afford to gamble on the vagaries of such a market. "The situation in India appears to be that the average native cannot afford to pa;* for the type of ghee that we could economically turn out. As to outside markets it has to be remembered that the average Indian export to other Eastern countries does not amount to much more than 1000 tons a year."

SOUTHLAND DAIRYING FEDERATION'S PROGRESS PROPERTY CLEAR OF DEBT [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION! INVERCARGILL, Tuesday The Farmers' Dairy Federation announced to-day that it was distributing among its suppliers £16,000 as a final bonus pav-out for the season. The company states that for seven years it has not sold any butter intended for export to England f.o.b. It has adhered strictly to consigning through one agent. It was also announced that the company's cash reserve now equalled its capital indebtedness to the bank, and that after the balance-sheet had been approved a cheque could be issued to clear the total debt upon its property. LONDON MARKETS" TALLOW CONTINUES QUIET The Department of Agriculture has received the following cablegram, dated August 31, from the High Commissioner for New Zealand, London:—• Tallow.—The market continues quiet; values nominally unchanged. Hemp.—Manila: The market is very firm owing to a good demand from Japan and America. K grade for October-Decemlwr shipment sold at £l7 10s. Sisal: The market is firmer. Sep-tember-November shipment is quoted by buyers at £lB ss. Fruit. —Stocks cleared at late rates. Apples: Prices during last season showed a definite improvement on 1934, but the general average was affected by the increased percentage of larger sizes due to short crops. Quality and condition were maintained. Pears have not done so well, principally owing to over-supplies. Peas. —Maples: The market is very quiet. A grade Tasmanian for AugustSeptember shipment sold at sos tid. No. 1 New Zealand sold at from 55s down to 54s 9d for August-September shipment at the close. A grade Tasmanian offered at 56s 6d No. 1 New Zealand 55s for August-September shipment. New crops of English are selling well on the basis of from 44s to 48s. PUKEKOHE PRODUCE SCARCE [from our own correspondent] PUKEKOHE, Tuesday Vegetables are at present in particularly short supply at Pukekohe and the position is not expected to improve for another fortnight. Supplies of locally-grown onions are practically exhausted. Cauliflowers are quoted at 8s a large sack, f.0.r., Pukekohe; Savoy cabbages, lis a large sack; Enfield Market cabbages, 8s a large sack; pumpkins, 10s per cwt.; carrots, 2s 9d a sugar hag; onion plants, 3s 9d a 1000; cabbage plants, Is 3d a 100; cauliflower plants, Is 6d a 100*