NEW ZEALAND BUTTER.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4426, 5 August 1901, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER.

VIEWED FROM THE LONDON MARKET. VALUABLE INFORMATION FROM A TRADE AUTHORITY. As a herald of the approach of the export dairy produce season, Mr Jas. Kowin (representative of Messrs Loved and Christmas, of London) has arrived from England to superintend the operations of his firm in this colony. Mr Kowin was a passenger by the Aotea, which arrived on Saturday, and in con. versation with a “New Zealand Times" representative, gave some indication of his impressions of the Louden dairy produce market during the height of the English summer season, and of New Zealand butter and cheese viewed from the standpoint of the world’s greatest market. It is astonishing, Mr Kowin remarked, how very insignificant our export of butter appears when viewed from London. For instance, with Messrs Lovell and Christmas (who are the largest importers of New Zealand butter into England, and who "turn over” between two and three million pounds a year in but ter alone) New Zealand butter forms but a twentieth part of their stock. Yet in one season Mr Kowin’s firm has taken no less than £230,000 worth of butter from this country- It will thus be seen that the quantity of New Zealand butter put upon the London market is practically insignificant, and that New Zealand producers have still a lot to do before the quantity of their output will materially affect that market. . .

Referring to an expression of opinion on the quality of New Zealand butter which he made to a "New Zealand Times’’ representative before leaving for London some months ago, Mr Kowin •aid that what he had seen and heard in London since fully bore out everything he said when leaving the colony. The advantage of the consignment business over selling outright, Mr Kowin remarked, was clearly proved by the oxpcrienca of the past season, a fact which many factories must know to their cost. Some factories which sold their outputs at the beginning of last, season must have lost heavily, while those factories which consigned have fully reaped the benefit of the good market. The quality of,New Zealand butter during the past season has been found by the London "trade* 'to bo very good, and was an improvement on previous seasons, though the general advance in quality had not been so marked as during past seasons. This, of course, might naturally be expected, as when an article has attained a certain pitch of perfection the iamc rate of progress cannot be maintained as is noticeable during the earlier stages of development. The quality of New Zealand cheese, it t* also satisfactory to know, has been very good. The prices of the previous season were hot, of course, realised, be cause those prices were abnormal. The prospects for New Zealand butter and cheese during the coming season, Mr Kowin thinks, are fair. The old and burning complaint of the London trade regarding the irregularity of arrival of our produce, was constantly brought under the notice of Mr Kowin. The present irregularity of delivery to the London agents must, Mr Kowin points out, be detrimental to the interests of all concerned. A remarkable statement is made by Mr Kowin that fully one-third of our last season’s butter was bought by specula, tors, and consequently found its way to the West of England counties, whero it was milled with Argentine butter, and railed up to London ns “best Devon shire.” This was well known to the provision trade at Homo, and was in fact ventilated in a London paper. One correspondent, by the way. pointed out that New Zealanders had no room to talk when they gent North Island sheep .down to Christchurch and sold them to the London consumer as "prime Canterbury.” The fact that New Zealand butter could be sold at Devonshire is of course striking evidence as to its quality^ The most noteworthy experience gained by Mr Kowin while in London was in reference to the Russian butter trade, some brief particulars of which has _already reached this colony. The Russian Government has taken hold of the butter industry "with both hands,” and is assisting it in a most liberal manner. In fact, the way in which the Russians have recognised the demands of London, is an object lesson to our own Government. The Russian Government first of all assisted in the development of the industry in Siberia by supplying experts to introduce up-to-date methods of manufacture ; then, when the Siberian trunk line was completed, insulated railway cars wore provided, a connecting line of steamers was purchased (running from Reiga, up the Baltic Sea, to London) and the whole system from producer to consumer was perfected. Being all under Government control, the system was carried out «o wel land systematically that London was taken by storm. Great lines of good butter landing, suddenly upon a market was enough to cause sur / prise, and when Mr Kowin left London it was felt that the Russians would yet astonish the world with the auantity and quality of their dairy products. At present, Mr Kowin says, the quality, though surprisingly, good, is naturally uneven—as was our own butter in the early stages of the industry in this colony.

Referring to the question of colour in butter Mr Kowih points out that the reason certain classes, especially in the Midland and Northern Counties, prefer a nale butter, is because they have been educated to colourless butter by the Danes. The system of feeding cattle and manufacturing butter in vogue in Denmark induces a pale colour in the butter, which is, of T-OTTSe, artificial. The pale butter of Denmark is an insipid as well as a colourless article, and it is no ideal for New Zealanders to' aim at. The best class of trade prefers the natural butter with a good flavour, and any attempt, Mr Kowin points out, to colour the butter by using acids, or anything of that nature for the purpose of bleaching it must be prejudicial to the industry. » Concluding his remarks. Mr Edwin pointe out that quality is everything and that New Zealanders have nothing to fear as long as they can produce a highclass and uniform article.

of the poultry trade of London, of which he has a very wide experience, Mr Howin gave some idea of the effort being made by the great exporting firms of the States to capture that market. Two or three firms—Armours and Swifts—landed on the London market during the month of May thirty thousand boxes of poultry per week, each box containing twelve head. These birds were prepared in a beautiful cleanly manner, got up in a taking style and were of good quality. The principal drawback was that the fowls, for the greater part, were very yellow, though still of good quality. Had they been white instead of yellow they would have realised more money. As it was they were retailed at from 2s 6d t* 3s 6d each. The influx of Russian poultry was also enormous at that time, and thes* were selling at from Is to 2s per head.