DISPARITY IN PRICES

Taranaki Daily News, 7 April 1927, Page 10

DISPARITY IN PRICES

DOMINION DAIRY PRODUCE WHAT IS THE CAUSE? RECENT VISITOR’S VIEW. Writes Mr. T. Wilcox, of Rahotu, who lias just returned from a trip to England:— A matter which has perplexed the minds of dairymen for many years is the disparity of price between the dairy produce from this country and some of our competitors for the Home trade. Our chief competitor in the butter market has always been Denmark, and her produce, in my opinion, is likely to occupy the leading place for some time to come, and it should not be necessary to point out that there is a constant margin of a very considerable amount in price in favour of Danish butter. Nor is it far to look for the reason of this. The quality of Danish butter is excellent, and on account of her geographical position she has an advantage which we can never possess—the ability to place on the Homo market an article with a fresh dairy flavour. Admittedly it has not the keeping qualities of the butter from this country, but that is not necessary, as her produce is delivered in London every night by fast motor ships, which traverse the distance from Eslying in Jutland to Harwich in twenty-four hours, and, as Harwich is only two hours from London, it is quite easy to see why she has one advantage that we in this country can never have. Then it has to be remembered that the Danes do not -store their butter, all butter being sold weekly at the market price available, which also is a most important factor, the consumer being always sure of getting the freshest of butter, with ah the bloom and flavour associated with a really fresh article, and this is another advantage that Denmark gains owing to her proximity to tne English market. It must not be forgotten cither that the Danish dairy farmer produces all the year round alike, despite the fact that the cows have to be stabled for at least seven months of the year. His production of butter-fat is the same every day, winter and summer, ensuring a uniformly fresh article to the British consumer, so for the reasons above stated it will be very hard indeed to displace the Danish butter on the Home market. But we can keep on trying, ever doing our best to improve our quality, ever taking advantage of scientific research, manufacturers doing their best to turn out the best finished article, dairy farmers also doing their utmost to supply the very best of raw material without which there can be no prospect of success. CANNOT STAND STILL. There is no revolution without continuity; in other words, nothing stands still. If our produce does not go forward in quality it will go back, and if we as dairymen keep at it untiringly, ever keeping the great ideal of reaching the top in sight who knows what the future may hold, the opportunity may not be so very far distant, and, if prepared we shall be ready to take advantage of it when it arrives. But while the position regarding butter appears to me to be broadly as I have stated, the same in my opinion does not apply to cheese. There must be some grave reason for the difference in price betwen, for example New Zealand and English chese, and this is a matter concerning which I have given a great deal of thought, and, as a result, I believe I can point out at least one reason of considerable gravity. It has to be admitted in the first place that during the last few years dairy companies have not given the matter of quality the consideration it deserves, that in the mad race for yields quality has been lost sight of to a very great extent, and this in itself is a very serious matter indeed. In conversation with one of the most prominent merchants in the dairy produce trade, at his office in Tooley Street recently, he emphasised the statement that New Zealand producers were acting suicidally in trying to incorporate too much moisture in their cheese, and his advice to me was: “Don't do it.” But it appears that this practice is not being followed to any extent this season, and it is to be hoped, for the welfare of dairymen as a whole, that the practice has been dropped for all time. But this reason, although a most dangerous one, and most prejudicial to ourselves, is not the only, reason for disparity in price. It has recurred to me that there must be others, and this brings me to a most important matter, and the real object of this letter. Our chief competitors in the cheese trade are the Home farmers and Canada. I am not in a position at present to say just what proportion of the cheese consumed in Britain is manufactured there, but it is very considerable, in fact before the war the British farmer manufactured more than half the cheese consumed, but I do know, and most dairymen are aware, that there is always a very considerable difference m the prices obtained for our cheese and English; in fact we very seldom get nearer than twenty shillings per cwt. to the price obtained for English farmers' make. Now twenty shillings per cwt. is a very considerable margin, and would represent nearly 6d a lb butterfat to dairymen here, and this should make it worth while to do a good deaf of investigating. > RIPENING OF CHEESE. I suggest as a reason for part of the disparity is the fact that while we arc trying to improve the quality of our milk, and our manufacturers on their part are doing their best to turn out the best finished product, we lose sight of one of the most important parts of the cheese making operation—the ripening of the cheese. Our grading laws compel us to keep .the cheese on the shelves for. fourteen days after it is made, and it is then bundled into the crates and despatched to the grading stores to be graded and shipped to the market at the earliest possible moment, and this, I fear, is where we art making a tremendous mistake, and a fatal one when it comes to delivering the best article in London. Once the cTieese is in the crate it is never turned, except by acc dent, and as a consequence the moisture goes to the lower end of the cheese, causing one end of the cheese to be too moist and tender in body It also causes mould ti collect, and generally gives the cheese a most uninviting appearance, but with a few more days on the shelves, and

the usual attention it receives while there, this might be almost entirely obviated, with the result that the cheese would be improved immeasurably. The water content, which plays an important part in the ripening process, would be more evenly balanced, which is impossible under present conditions. The English farmer, on the other hand, has by force of circumstances to keep his cheese until it is ready for aonsumption from three to six months, during which time it is eqrv I for like one of the family, with (’ ■ result that ho leaves his competitors far behind in quality, which, of course, must be measured by the price received. I am aware that the matter of extra storage ol cheese opens up the important question of the provision of extra cool storage, either at the factories or by jointly owned cool stores, which would be easy of access to companies participating, so as to allow the cheese to bo transferred at suitable intervals without crating, but surely it should be worth our while to look well into this matter, and, instead of looking for a fault in the merchants or the markets, might wo not look nearer home? Sixpence a pound butter-fat should make it well worth while.