MARKETING PROSPECTS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 75, Issue 6449, 21 November 1947, Page 8

MARKETING PROSPECTS

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE BRITAIN’S SHORTAGES The marketing of New Zealand dairy produce in Britain and the prospects of the market were desbribed by Mr H. E. Davis, manager of the New Zealand Marketing Division in London, at a meeting of directors of dairy companies convened by the South Auckland Dairy Association and held in Hamilton. Mr W. N. Perry, chairman of the association, presided.

Mr Davis said that Britain had a pre-war consumption of 520,000 tons of butter, of which 480,000 tons were imported. Exports from Australia and New Zealand were down by 50,000 tons, while South Africa no longer ’exported this product. Denmark used to export 115,000 tons of butter to Britain, but supplies from this source dropped to 45,000 tons, and because Britain was unable to meet the heavy price now asked, had in the meantime stopped altogether. Sweden and Finland were likely to be out of production as far as Britain was concerned for a long time to come. The Netherlands had been badly hit by the war and could not be depended on to supply much in the immediate future. Butter from the Baltic States had gone to,Russia. Judged by pre-war importations Great Britain had a shortage of 280,000 tons of butter, added Mr Davis. It would be necessary to sell New Zealand butter at 2s 5d in Britain and towards this the British Government paid a subsidy of Is Id. Consumer subsidies in the middle of this year were costing Great Britain £26,000,000 a year on butter alone, and £3,000,000 on oils and fats. Subsidies on butter in 1948 would probably cost the British taxpayer well over £30,000,000, for it was the policy of the British Government that subsidies on food must be maintained.

Dealing with cheese, Mr Davis said that British imports had increased by 25,000 tons to 180,000 tons since the beginning of the war. The imports of New Zealand cheese remained the same, while there had been an increase of imports from Australia and a decrease from Canada, which was being compensated for by supplies from the United States. In short, the quantity available in Britain was about the same as before the war. Mr Davis gave a detailed description of the methods of distribution. He said that shipments were regulated, and supplies directed to many British outposts. This helped to offset the premium ruled for Danish butter. It had been possible to reduce the premium for Danish over New Zealand butter from 20s to 12s per cwt. In answer to questions Mr Davis said that the quality of New Zealand butter and cheese had been maintained at an extraordinarily high standard through the war and the postwar periods, while the quality of Danish butter had shown much greater variation, due in a large measure to the differences in time it took to market it under the rationing system.