THE BUTTER WAR.

Putaruru Press, Volume V, Issue 176, 17 March 1927, Page 6

THE BUTTER WAR.

CONTROL BOARD’S POLICY. A Suggestion from Argentine. The causes for the decline in the prices for butter in the home markets have been much under discussion of late. It is stated that control is so objectionable to those who handle New Zealand dairy produce that millions of pounds have been spent by them in developing other sources of supply. Smith’s Weekly, in its issue of February 26, publishes a very illuminating letter from Mr. M. A. O’Callaghan, who until recently was filling the position of dairy expert adviser and manager in Argentina. “ When I came hei*e in November, 1924,” says Mr. O’Callaghan, “ I could find no evidence of up-to-date equipment. There was not one cream pasteuriser at work. Nor did I find any up-to-date factory managers. I found some very large and expensive factories, but half a million sterling would cover the lot of these. I also saw no evidence of large numbers of best strains of dairy cattle. Tz*ue, there is a big development in the breeding of Holstein-Friesians, but the British dairy breeds have been neglected. The Shorthorn is there as a perfect beef breed, but, though many non-pedigree Shorthorns met with are excellent milkers, they have not been systematically improved. This is Argentina’s greatest defect in dairying to-day. “ Novi let me say I hold no brief for Tooley street, and I think you attribute too much importance to that section of the butter trade. As a matter of fact the power of control has passed from Tooley street into tile hands of the large multiple shop companies. This was clearly mani- j fested in the recent fight against control by the New Zealand Board of : Control, better named non-control. ' Tooley street houses, the big whole- j sale commission houses, as a rule , only provide the butter for the big • buyers referred to. j “ In my report of 1924 to the Government of Australia I strongly ad- ! vised that no effort be then made to swallow Tooley street and its connections or the Australian butter industry would get a bad fit of indigestion. New Z n * and m-.de the effort while Au'v 4iia wiih its Board of Control looked on. Result—New Zealand got it m the neck and Australia in the stomach. I am still of opinion that my recommendation to work with Tooley street representatives and an official secretary was sounder than appointing an Australian committee in London. Co-operation within the Empire is better than civil war, even if it is only a butter war. “It is really not in the interests of British butter sellers, wholesale or retail, to depress overmuch the prices of butter, as this kills production. But the primary sense of man, as with all other animals, is that of self-preservation, and if British traders see a direct offensive launched against them you may be sure they will prepare to receive and repel it. British butter people are keen and there is no doubt that they have invested money in Latvia and Esthonia, but I doubt if they have done more than put up credits with which to buy Siberian butter.” After dealing with the tallowy flavour of Argentine butter and stating that he had solved the cause of the trouble, Mr. O’Callaghan goes on to say : “ You cannot direct the British produce business from Melbourne and Sydney. If Australia and New Zealand want to control the price of butter in England to any material extent they must either produce a majority of the world’s butter supply or they must do as Vesteys Ltd. did when they set out to fight the American beef interests in Argentina—open a couple of thousand retail shops in England for the sale of dairy produce, or better still, buy out two or three of the principal multiple shop houses and take over their organisations. That of course would mean some millions sterling, and one wonders in the end if it would be better than a sound competitive wholesale selling organisation and a keen study of the conditions of sup- | ply and demand.”

As an indication of the rapid strides that are being made by dairying in Argentina, the writer states that one land company had just landed the first drafts of a little importation of 3000 Holstein-Friesian heifers and that he had just come hack from a visit to two estancias on which 7500 cows were milked daily.