NEW ZEALAND BUTTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19373, 8 January 1925, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER.

USED EXTENSIVELY FOE BLENDINGPALE OP Ilb CARTONS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON. December 3. When -will New Zealand butter be eold in tbo retail shops of Great Britain as New Zealand butter? This is a question which has been asked for many years. According to a New Zealander prominent in the iooley Street trade euch a consummation is even further away to-day than it has ever been. '.The reason he gives is this; Butter-blending is growing ever moro popular, a*n<l Ivew Zealand butter and high grade Australian butter are being used to raise inferior articles to a palatable and saleable quality. Two years ago, said my informant, the quantity of Siberian butter imported to this country was 10 per cent, of the pre-war quantity. Last year it was 40 per cent, of pre-war quantity. The very best of this can be eaten in the state in which it arrives, but 80 per cent, of it has to be blended before it is suitable to pass on to the public. Second grade Australian and the greater pioportion of Argentine, Canadian, and United States butter can only bo sold to the public after it has passed through the process ot blending. .. , Nearly all blenders use a proportion of New Zealand butter or first-grade Australian to help witli the flavour, the amount used, of course, depending upon the grade of butler it is desired to produce. Danish is net used for blending, since it is not as good for iho purpose Q/S .New Zealand, and in any case it is dearer than New Zealand butteiNow Zealand people are proud of their butter and naturally they are desirous that it should be known by the consuming public, and that the retailers should sell it as New Zealand butter. Many wholesale tradesmen, however, would reply that it is far too precious to waste in this way. Its great purpose is to raise the average stand of all imported butter by means of blending. Without it enormous quantities from other parts of the world would be practically wasted, lor the latter is below the standard of quality which the public demands. Thus the producers have the.satisfaction of knowing that the trade thoroughly appreciates the quality and value of the butter from the dominion, though it is not altogether to the interests of either the wholesale or the retail trade to pass the knowledge on to the public. THE RETAILER. The retail trader is in a similar position He has very little use for proprietary articles Well-known sauces and prepared foods are demanded by the public and be supplies them, but he obtains a much greater profit on nameless bulk produce. In the case of bntter he maintains a standard of quality, and he prefers to maintain that standard in his own way according to the state of the markets. Sometimes he may bo selling blended butter, at other times Irish, and at other times New Zealand. He considers that all his public requires to know is that the butter tbey buy is up to his usual standard. Of course, there are firms who specialise in best New Zealand buttei, but the main body of retailers are not able to do bo. It would hamper their business. In any case they consider that it is no business of the public to know all fhe secrets of the trade so long as they obtain the quality they require. In regard to the sale of lib or Jib packets of New Zealand bntter, my Tooley Street informant maintains that it will never be a success. If pats of butter could go direct from the merchants to the retailers all might be well, and a profit might be derived 'row the trade. But the merchants supply the wholesalers with bulk butter, and the whole- ■ salers object to any short circuiting on the part of the merchants. Naturally, they can enforce their objections by refusing to deal with a merchant who trios to cut them out in the trade. Hence the butter cartons have to go through the wholesale and the retail houses, and with two series of profits taken out of the distribution of butter put up in this miniature form is not a paying proposition. Certainly the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company are selling their Anchor brand butter in cartons, but even with this company no short circuiting is permitted. The cartons have to go through the usual channels—from the merchant to the wholesale house and thence to the retailer Cartons of butter with a proprietary name on them or only the name of a dominion on them are apt to bo considered by a retail grocer in quite a different way from what he considers his bulk butter. For the latter, he is personally responsible. His reputation depends upon its quality. A. butter pat set up in carton with a name upon it is quite a different matter. The name relieves him of responsibility, and he will sell tho article whether it has deteriorated in quality or not. It may bo rancid, but he will get rid of it and take none of the responsibility. So if it be New Zealand butter that is being sold in cartons perhaps unnecessary damage would bo done to tho reputation of the dominion. There may be opposing arguments to set against these given by a Tooley Street merchant, but when considering tho question of marketing New Zealand butter under its own name, these factors might with some usefulness bo taken into consider:;tion.