INCREASED BUTTER OUTPUT

Taranaki Daily News, 8 November 1932, Page 16

INCREASED BUTTER OUTPUT

LONDON BUYERS UNEASY.

JLARGE QUANTITIES ABSORBED.

A report received in Auckland by the representative of a London dairy produce importing firm indicates that London buyers are becoming perturbed by the reports of largely-increased production in New Zealand. At present the London market is not hea/vily supplied with New Zealand butter, but . supplies are commencing to arrive in larger quantities, and this is ' expected to cause an easing in values. The output of the leading dairying countries of the world has increased tremendously during • the last few years and the British market is being called upon to absorb greatly increased Supplies. It was thought that saturation point had been reached several years ago, hut low prices during the. last tw.o years have further stimulated consumption, with the result that the demand continues to equal the supply. Last year the quantity of butter eaten by the people of Great Britain was -at least 10 per cent, greater than in any other year. Much of this gain was made at the expense of margarine, owing entirely to the fact that the retail price of butter-had been reduced to a pohit where it competed favourably with its rival.

In spite of Denmark’s amazing progress, New Zealand has outstripped her principal competitor in the increase of output, all of which lias been absorbed by the Dominion’s only market—Great Britain. Since 1922 New Zealand’s export. of butter to the. United Kingdom has risen from 43,184 tons to 87,493 tons in 1931, while over the same period Denmark’s shipjnents increased from 67,313 tons to 118,149 tons. How consumption improved during those years is shown by the tremendous increase in the total importations, to Great • Britain, which, excluding Irish Free State butter, rose from 188,781 tons in 1922 to 337,370 tons in 1931.

The present dairying season has opened most propitiously in New Zealand and .although there was an increase in butter exports from 65,496 tons to 87,493 tons last year,, there is every promise of this record being eclipsed by this season’s production. At the same time, Australia is becoming a serious competitor. Last season was a bountiful one and at present previous results • are being easily exceeded. All this extra production must be absorbed by the United Kingdom, since, as a result of altered conditions in Canada, both Australia’s and New Zealand’s shipments to that quarter have been considerably curtailed.