PURE BUTTER-FAT

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4559, 13 April 1942, Page 4

PURE BUTTER-FAT

SUCCESS OF EXPERIMENT OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT “The Dominion’s export butter position on present indications has been improved since February last, as the result of discussions which have been taking place between the British Ministry of Food and the New Zealand Government,” said the Minister of Marketing, the Hon. J. G. Barclay, at Wellington on Saturday. The main reason, the Minister said, had been the successful development of pure butter-fat manufacture, experimental shipments reaching Britain having proved so satisfactory that the British Ministry of Food had offered to enter into a contract with the New Zealand Government for the production, this season and next, of up to 20,000 tons. In addition, the general position of refrigerated shipping had shown no marked deterioration and this factor, combined with the fact that pure but-ter-fat could be shipped in non-re-frigerated space, further strengthened the export butter position. In the circumstances, the Government was now able to give a definite indication to butter producers covering the remainder of the present season and the 1942-43 production year. Butter suppliers should endeavour to maintain their output as nearly as possible to the normal level. It is understood in trade circles that the quoted contract figure of 20,000 tons is beyond the capacity of the plant now installed in New Zealand, and considerable extensions of plant would have to be made before the Department’s aim could be achieved. Experiments in making “dry butter” were made by the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company, Limited, as far back as 1924, said Mr C. J. Parlane, general manager of the company, on Saturday. This was produced from unsalted butter by centrifugal separation by much the same methods at present being used and was exported in four-gallon cans. Should the war last for a long time, said Mr Parlane, pure butter-fat might become of great importance.