NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE

Southland Times, Issue 19255, 20 June 1921, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE

BUTTER AND CHEESE. BANK CHAIRMAN ON THE OUTLOOK. In the course of his address at the annual meeting of the Bank of New Zealfind yesterday the Chairman (Mr Harold Beauchamp) said:— Had the Imperial Government continued purchasing our produce at the same prices as when the various commandeers ended, we should have been still revelling in prosperity. Just what the Imperial purchases have meant to New Zealand may be realised from the fact that the total payments made by the Imperial Government up to April 30 amounted to £158,602,725. The outstanding feature during the past season, in connection with produce, was the excellent return obtained from both butter and cheese. Butter was taken by the Imperial Government during the season now ended, at the extraordinarily high price of 280/- per cwt. f.o.b. New Zealand ports. Butter and cheese shipments and values for the year ended March 31 last, compared with the figures for the previous year, show:—

There has been a decrease in the quantity of cheese exported, but this was due to the attractive price ruling for butter, causing factories which had the necessary plant to turn over from cheese to butter manufacture. During the 1920-21 season, up to the present time, cheese has been realising prices much in excess of those which were obtained under the commandeer. The present tendency is towards lower prices, as the new Canadian output is now coming on the market and being sold at a much lower price than has, up to now, been obtained for the New Zealand product. Still, the outlook for cheese is distinctly good. The prompt realisation, of butter at a high price proved of great value in dealing with the exchange problem. Had dairy produce slumped in the same way as wool, meat, tallow, hides and skins, the conditions in New Zealand to-day would have been very much worse than they are. The past dairy produce season has been an excellent one, and our concern is now with next season. It is most difficult for anyone to express a definite opinion on the prospects, because the conditions are subject to violent changes, but there are some basic facts that need to be kept well in mind. The first is that Britain is our best, and practically the only, customer we have for our dairy produce. This customer has been impoverished by the war, by internal strikes and political unrest, and by the inability of Europe to purchase goods except at small prices, in reduced quantities, and on long terms of credit. It would be folly to expect that butter will again sell at £2BO per ton, but just what it is likely to rule at will depend upon the developments of the next eight or ten weeks. The British Food Ministry will have a large carry-over of butter, and the quantity in private hands is also likely to be substantial. The Imperial authorities have made repeated cuts in their butter prices; still the Danes have been able, or have been forced to sell at a lower rate to obtain quittance. The Danish producer cannot afford to hold his butter for any fancy price, and is ready to meet the market. However, it does not seem possible that butter will fall to the 1914 average of 116/- per cwt. While not venturing upon a forecast of the price, I am satisfied that it will be much lower than the prices paid by the Imperial Government during the war.

Butter .. Cheese .. 1919-1920. cwt. 310,283 .. 1,540,949 £ 2,832,991 7,720,366 1,851,232 10,553,357 Butter .. Cheese .. 1920-1921. cwt. .. 476,730 .. 1,208,263 £ 6,114,464 6,514,519 1,684,993 12,628,983