EAIRY PRODUCE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 55, Issue 3927, 16 July 1937, Page 8

EAIRY PRODUCE

CHEESE EASIER, BUTTER FIRMING. For the past four months the dairy produce market has been remarkably steady. Compared with two months ago, cheese has declined only 9d cwt. and butter has risen 3s 6d cwt. The relative heights of New Zealand butter and cheese compared with last year are interesting, comments Mr H. A. Seifert in the Dominion. Cheese is higher than a year ago by 10s 9d cwt., or approximately 18 per cent. Butter is lower by 3s cwt., or 2 1 per cent. Last week there were reports of a dull market. Our comment upon this was that the market was dull, but not weak. The butter recovery bears th's out. Butter stocks are now close to 1,000,000 boxes, at 950,000, representing 23,750 tons. This represents over a fortnight’s supply to the Britisn trade. The stock is not up much on last year’s, about one day’s supply only. The easing in cheese values is rather incomprehensible for stocks ”f New Zealand are given as only 52,000 crates, compared with 108,000 a year ago. Cheese prices usually move in general sympathy with butter and this season of the year has returned good prices over the past three or four seasons. No pronounced or general decline is anticipated in cheese values. The market has, however, been so high for many months that if it moved at all it could scarcely go higher. Butter is in a different position. From experiences of the past several seasons a winter and early spring rise has come to be expected. Prices have shot up to the 120 s. This season the rise came early, but shows no signs of rocketing. It is as yet early and much may happen during August-October. A stable and reasonably good price level is, however, best for the trade as a whole. New that the depression is past perhaps that is what we shall see.