NEW ZEALAND AND DANISH BUTTER

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4307, 16 March 1901, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND AND DANISH BUTTER

TliM REASONS FOR TUI'; DIFFERENCE IN PRICE. a valuable report fiioaj the - PRODUCE (.;()M2IIHSI ON ER. Under dale <:f London, January I')!)!, .Mr U. C. Cameron reports to the Agricultural t tepart meut on the all-im-portant of the price of NV.v i-'ciland butler on tlio Loudon marker. Mol I lio roi!;-oi’,') For 1 lie greater pi ice realised Jtv Dani.-Ji butler. The report in. periiap.-:, i!:e me,:-! valuable the Pro- ( oinnii :.io:ior has fnrni-.hoil lo the ! Ji’pa.id 11 soll r, ninl a, man’.’ of Hie facts Air Cameron bring, fonvun! oro new to .\i '.v Zealanil ilairynieii, id; report i; 1 1 1 ro'.vi Ifi given in full. .Mr (';:ino:oii

’For .oil!" I.mi'.' j) t-t a very wide margin lias ruin'! between the price of New Mi , ;: , anil nan i):on.-.!i ladler, mi<j ivlii'ii • no iimi rs I In- very high eoiuiiiendat ions j. ‘si.ml in, 1 1, i ■ i'oniK'r It is natural in wend; r why Ibis dib’en nee in value i... ii m i; i. i i i f'< L “Danish butler is qinded at, 17(1; lo L’Ss |ir*.i- I’.vi., a difi'mrnee of Ids per i . ! . mw New Zealand. i'liere am m>voral reason'; Mini may .iieeonnt. for HiN. Deniii lull ter an. Ii <: '.v been oil t !;.■ .‘lore lor many years, 1 1 vii>'t; :>nml a. 1 1 i;;! i r< on In I ion nil account of :’s • ■ <J.’ r.| i|iinlil.v. aii'l having lieen ivci!

m 1 mri I’ f'il. I( is ooenlv announced as b- mg sold 1 1 y refmiers nil over lbI’omitry. K very one knows the name of ‘j > ’ 111 s 1)’ f> ll l f C’,■, anil a.-.-aeiates that with Ihe best. in simiiaj’ manlier iin ‘Can tori’ary’ la,nil) is a asocialeil v.’il ii moat of I in- finest, finality, Englnml, of court/', dees no!, produce line bolder in any quant ;ty, mid tin- term ’Eiyßi'.'i' i; not a - •ocintcd i.i the lud (.or trade ivilh Hie In si., a, s it is in the meal trade. ‘‘New Zealand butter has not, until vio’v recently, had a high reputation cin I in' mark'd; linn;. It is only of recent years that, the hotter sent from the colony had heon looked upon at all with lavonr. Previous to that its reputation yas had, in fa,at so low was it that, it is recognised that this had a groat deal 1 i do in ’ lii.nderi.ng its distribution I bronghnut the country. That this is I nli. is acknowledged by (oho produei-rs 1 !nnn,elves in New Zealand, it is seldom even now ilia I a retailer is found adveri isiug ‘New Zealand’ butter for ; oIc■. What hi' sells of it is merely /!'•-

ib.'d as ‘choice d Ihillt!'.’ and, as in < • f rniic Nciv Zealand am thou is -uli.-l ihii rd if>r English, lie may snhstiI'ill' il I'm - Dimi. ii. .Many |iiircliiis t., m ml llieir order to I heir grocer I'or bnijl'!’ and never see ilic balk I'nim which il is ciil:.

"Mereliuuls here, nlso, can send orders In Dcmiiiii'i:, giving three (lays’ notice, fm- their weekly supplies to lie delivere.l in ipiant ilies an required, on various ii'n rkets , I brim,glum t the country. This, oi course, is ImpiM'-iblc from the colony. Shipments from New Zealand arrive at longer in terra Is. and of ten. irregularly, ami, (.-s’n.sor(nonlly, the market- is sometimes over supplied, and at other times hare. These things will tend to cause a wide difference in i nine between New Zealand and Danish hntter, hut to my inniil the principal reas.-ni why .New Zealand docs not obtain a, price more approaching that received by Danish is the difference in the system of distribn- ( ion employed by these countries. ‘ Danish butter is .sent to. this conntry under various brands, as is the case with butter from Now Zealand. Each brand is sent weekly to the same agent, who sells it always on the same market.

iiml usually tho same retail buyer takes i lie same hniml week after week. Ho knows tho quality of tho brand, and keeps to it. Finding it reliable, ho is willing to pay a. high price for it. Agents have an incentive to push individual brands, which they handle regularly, and haring certain buyers for each lot, they can hold out for top prices, which Buyers will give rather than change to anoMier brand, the reputation of which 1 hey may pot he acquainted with, at less money. As a guide to the rate to be charged for Danish butter, a committee gives a price weekly. On this committee tho producers of the butter are represented. Tho price is arranged according to the conditions of the market, and it is known to buyers and sellers hero alike. Of course, sometimes it has ,vo be broken, and less accepted, while at other times higher values may be made, hut generally speaking this rules the market. ’ “In handling New Zealand butter the renditions arn quite different. 1 suppose I am. safe in saying that threafmirths of tho butter made in factories in Now Zealand is sold outright, The prico obtained ia usually a satisfactory duo, at least I presume so, or no fmslnew.?, would he done cm these fines. Having purchased tho output of a factory, the main object of the buyer is to make a safe profit, and naturally he does tho best ho can to obtain this. Tho butter e.omcH Horne and is distributed to the best advantage. It is sold on its merits at tho best price possible. Supposing that a wholesale! merchant had made a purchase in Now Zealand cf butt?r of a certain factory which he considers choir?, ho introduces this to his retail customers who like it and buy it from him during the season. To introduce tho brand to them, and to induqd them to take t, ho possibly may accept Is or 2s under top market value. Tho retailer, having sol.! this hatter to his customers, who also like it, will'ask for the same brand again. But ho is informed that he cannot m «' ho supplied with it, as the output or that factory this year is in the hands of someone else! The merchant, hcwevei endeavours to introduce another brano instead, and has all his past year’s trouble over again. Tho retailor may try another brand, or he may be dissatis.io 1 and may not do so. Possibly, if ho is very anxious to obtain tho same butter ho may make inquiry tm find out where it. is now obtainable and buy it—tho previous seller thus losing a customer. “Ih wilt thus bo seen that under p-o----sonfc conditions of business in New Zealand butter, neither wholesale merchant nor retailor is satisfied. Them is no incontivo for anyone—with the exception of those who are directly interested n dairy Factories and are merchants hero also- —-to work up tho price of New Zealand butter. So long as a fair profit (an ho mu do out of his speculation the! buyer is satisfied. Ho will not specialise a he butter nor advertise it extensively, as ho lias no. guarantee that ho may handle it for tho following season. “I know several brands of high quality

New Zealand butter that have been in different agents’ hands here for sale each year for the past four years. Naturally those who previously handled them speak against them and in favour ot other brands, which this year they may be handling, and retailers who formerly once had them have not au opportunity of getting them again this year. Retailers are not in the habit of changing thdir wholesale, merchant, with whom they may have done satisfactory business for years, except for some weighty reason, and are not likely to leave hun for, to them, such a'small matter as obtaining n particular brand of New Zealand butter.

“From the point of view of the farmers in New' Zealand, who, being largely interested in co-operative dairy factories, naturally wish to know fer a certainty what price they’are tc obtain for their milk throughout the season, I consider they are, right to sell their output at a fixed price and allow the buyers to take the* risk of a gain or loss. But I think that the system, while satisfactory (o that extent, i.s one that prevents any approach in value of New Zealand butter to Danish in the markets of this country. As f havo said, the agents and retailers handling the same brands of Danish butter vear after year have an inducement to push it, while those) who handle New Zealand butter here have no incitement.

There wilt always of course be a. considerable niaigin between freshly made butter, such as Danish, and frozen butter, such as Now Zealand, but 1 believe that,

with an improved system of concent ration and distribution in this country the difference in value between the two could lie very considerably reduced. The dif-

ference, lbs per evvt, ruling just now is of course extreme, ami is to. be accounted for by stocks of Danish butter being unusually light at the present time.