HIGHER ADVANCES FOR BUTTERFAT

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 22, 18 August 1932, Page 4

HIGHER ADVANCES FOR BUTTERFAT

STRATFORD COMPANIES JO PAY UP TO lid . NEW SEASON OPENS WITH OPTIMISTIC TONE Last month heralded the opening of the new dairy season, and suppliers, generally, as well as business people are keenly interested in awaiting the announcement of the payouts this 20th by .the respective Central Taranaki companies. Although all local dairies have not yet definitely decided their rate of advance, it is safe to say that ch«ese companies will pay out 10d and butter companies from 10id to 11d. Speaking to the Stratford Evening Post, a local dairy company chairman said that he considered factories in Taranaki would advance on a conservative basis this season and keep back as much as possible for winter distribution.

On the other hand the general trend of events to-day is much more promising, and it can safely be aaid that the new season has opened aus> piciously. Already f.o.b. offers of Hid are available to Stratford companies for August shipments of butter, and the market is steady at up to 110/-. Judging by the butterfat advances being offered producers now, dairy factory directors are anticipating more encouraging » prospects during the coming season. In the Manawatu, according to a message received yesterday, five of the principal factories » are advancing 11d a ib. for July, this figure being the highest since September last year, and in North Canterbury the advance is 1/- a Ib. with one factory offering it for August and until further notice.

The reasons for the higher advances in Canterbury is that factories in that district have a bigger percentage of local trade than those in the North Island, and consequently can come closer to their 'realisations. Tha market risk there is not so great as it is here, where factories have to hold their produce sometimes for three and four months after they pay out. Accordingly they have to base their payout on what they anticipate their product will bring on the export market. One manager in the South said that the decision of his directors to advance 1/- a lb. for July, August and until further notice was not made wholly because supplies were small at present, but because they believed that there was rea- - son to expect that this priceJp might obtain throughout the son. Many authorities agree that the out« look is much brighter than it was a year ago, and they are hoping that good butterfat advances would rula during the coming season. It is too early to say definitely how things will go, as it all depends on the future developments on the London mar. ket. If the proposed duty of 2d a lb, on the importation of foreign butters at Home resulted from the Ottawa Conference, as it is hoped, it would make a material difference to the lot of the producer in the Dominion. In the last two mourns the butter market at Home has shown a substantial improvement, advancing from as low as UiJs to the present level of IUTs to 110 s. The difference represents over lid a lb. to producers, apart from the exchange advantage.