DOMINION’S PRODUCE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 79, Issue 7077, 6 July 1949, Page 7

DOMINION’S PRODUCE

PROSPECTS FOR BRITISH MARKET

DANISII PRODUCTION

The prospect of increased quantities of dairy produce being marketed to advantage over a long term was discussed by Mr R. A. Candy, a member of the Dairy Products Marketing Commission, when opening the dairying section of the Ruakura farmers conference week. Britain, the Dominion’s main market, said Mr Candy, was rapidly returning to normal in so far as food supplies were concerned. Cereals were again plentiful, egg supplies were increasing rapidly, but Britain still suffered from a marked shortage of meat and fats, and in both commodities New Zealand was to-day her biggest supplier. The Dominion’s name stood high in Britain, and according to its ability to forward increased tonnages of meat and dairy produce it could rise still higher. Dr Norman Wright, chief scientific adviser to the British -Ministry of Food when in New Zealand recently had stated that he could not see Britain getting sufficient meat" to cover all demands within the next ten years.

“ With dairying, admittedly,” said M|r Candy, “ we must always look on margarine as a dangerous substitute. It is true that its consumption in Britain has more than doubled since before the war, and that of butter has more than halved.

“To-day butter consumption in Britain is back to just over half of what it was before the war . I do not think that Britain could absorb her pre-war tonnages of over 500,000 annually at prices considered payable by producers in this or any other country, but the ppssibility of these tonnages, or anything approaching them, being available in the foreseeable future seems extremely remote. “ The 70,000 tons that prior to the war came from the Baltic States, from Sweden in the north to Poland in the south, seem unlikely again to feature on the British market. It is true that Denmark is now increasing her production considerably, but on their most optimistic surveys they do not expect to get back to their prewar quantities of 115,000 tons for export to England for a considerable period. “The Danes are developing their cheese industry to quite an extent, and expect to sell increasing percentages of their output on the European market.

“ Australia is fast becoming more industrialised as a nation, and Mr Sheehy, the general manager of their

Butter Equalisation Committee, has stated that he can visualise the time when Australia will be importing butter from New Zealand and not sending over 83 600 tons to Britain, as she did on an average for the three years before the war, or some 54,000 tons of butter, as she has done during the last few years.”