DAIRY PRODUCE PRICES.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 February 1932, Page 4

DAIRY PRODUCE PRICES.

The market reports from Great Britain of the past week have been a little more cheering to the Dominion exporters of dairy produce. There has been a decided rise in the prices obtainable for butter and cheese, and London merchants have expressed the opinion that the improvement has a better chance of being permanent than previous upward movements of prices had. In regard to butter it is interesting to note that Denmark, the Dominion’s great rival for the British trade, is feeling the effect of the economic depression and that the output of butter is being curtailed. It is reported that Danish supplies are lower because, owing to the low prices obtainable, dairy farmers have been unable to purchase cattle food in the usual quantity. The success of the winter qjitput in Denmark depends entirely upon the plenitude and suitability of the artificial food available for the dairy herds, and inability to supply these soon shows its effect. The British tariff which comes into effect next mon ill, whatever may be the immediate effect upon the market of its establishment, is likely to lower rather than increase the price received by the Danish producer. This is not to say that their competition is in any way to be treated less seriously by New Zealand. The immediate effect of the diminished output from Denmark is a sharp rise in price on the London market, the latest quotation being 150 shillings per cwt as compared with 110 to 112 shillings for New Zealand butter. The fact that merchants are willing to pay £2 per cwt more for the Danish commodity is convincing proof of the hold it has upon British consumers. Nevertheless, with the rise in retail price this will involve, there should be an opportunity of increasing sales of Dominion produce and of manifesting its good qualities to those who have hitherto preferred the foreign article. To make the best of such opportunities the quality and attractiveness of the New Zealand product must be beyond question, and it is satisfactory to note that this is being recognised by the industry here. The recent increases in price are not of a nature to cause excitement. They do, however, give promise of better autumn returns than seemed likely a few weeks ago.