THE BUTTER RECORD.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13664, 31 March 1908, Page 7

THE BUTTER RECORD.

EXTIIAORDINARY PRICES.

. LONDON, March 14. i "There never was sich times," in Tooley Street, at any rate, since the days of the great fire. Grease was at the bottom of the trouble then, and grease is the prime cause of the trouble to-day: Then, however, it was chiefly vulgar grease — tallow principally; to-day it is butter. Fancy Australasian bAtter being sold at anything from 144s to 152s per cwt ! This is easily a record price for any sort of butter for the last five-and-twenty years, though a few grey-headed salesmen have a recollection of one .particular season, more than thirty years ago* when fancy brands of Normandy were sold "at 164s pe,r cwtMn early April, and the shortage was such that the wholesale houses in many cases were quite unable to supply their regular customers at any price. The extraordinary prices for Australasian butter current .in, Tooley Street must be causing some excitement m the producing and shipping centres in Australia and New Zealand, and one effect will be that,_ not fully realising that these record values are solely the outcome of the shortage of colonial butter, factory managers will expect next season enhanced pHces. As it is, the ..Commonwealth butter people are, on the whole, reaping the advantage of London quotations mqre than New Zealanders. A fair volume of New Zealand butter was sqld. forward for the whole season at moderate prices, ana in such cases ,the Londpn buyers are \now getting back some of the money i they lost jn similar transactions last season. Victorian mostly . comes along consigned, and a quantity of Sydney shipped butter is sold c.i.f . London week by week. In each, case Australia is now scoring. > WHAT OF THE FUTURE? What of the future of the butter . market ? It is a true and well-worn saying that "one extreme bFings an*,other," and so it will be in the present instance. Before the summer of , 1908 has far advanced, butter will again be in good supply. Already we learn that in several butter-pVoduc-ing countries large and up-to-date machinery is being put down, so as to cope with tho demand. Wo may just now have to spread our butter very carefully,, but in due course we shall have bread buttered as cheaply as it has been for many years past. Meantime, the "shilling" butter known to the housewife has gone. The lowest price is Is 2d, and seems sure to go to Is 4d. At this figure the demand will certainly fall off very materially, and butter in many houses will disappear in of margarine and jam, marmalade and such "relishes" will be brought into play as being cheaper than the usual brpad covering. Still, no real relief from the present situation can be expected till. April is with us, and if the European spring is unfavourable- to grass production it may be May before we get down to a reasonable range of prices, The reason for the present range of prices is not far* to seek. The total < imports of butter for 1907 were 4,216,435 cwt. ; of this quantity 936,539 e;wt came from Australasia and Canada (35,000 cwt), and 3, 279,896 cwt front foreign countries. " the grand "total compares with 4,337,258 cwt iri 1906; the arrivals from tne coldfciefe in lso6 were 1:048,467 cwt (Canada, 190,968 cwt). The colonial shortage shown in these totals is not a very considerable, one, because in the early part' of last year imports from Australasia were exceedingly heavy, but the arrivals from the Commonwealth in the latter part of 1907 fell far short of normal figures ; in fact, the butter famine now prevailing took its start from that period. For many years past our winter sup-, plies of butter have mainly come from (1) Denmark, Sweden, late.* (2) Siberia, and (3) Australia and New Zealand, and merchants and brokers have to rely on these sources in order to supEly the wants of the British . public m iondon, Manchester, Liverpool, and other largo centres of consumption. Taking Denmark first, ,1907 showed a decrease of 38,000 cwt, Russian and Siberia sent us 50,000 cwt more than in the previous year •, Australia's figures have been, given above. Considering the, figures for .the first month of tho present year, the total arrivals show , a drop -of 87,000 cwt. ; from the colonies we received 119,000 cwt against 174,500 in January, 1906; from foreign countries our imports in the same month were 223,000 cwt' against 260,000 for January, 1906. It is assumed here from the weather conditions that prevailed in Australia in the producing period, that nothing in tho direction of a serious recovery can take place this season, and that there will be a shortage of something like 50CCDOO boxes of butter (12,500 tons) by April next. The wholesale market prices for Australa-' sian butter in Tooley Street to-day mark an advance of over 50 per cent. on those ruling at the same period a year ago. Then only a limited quantity of the very best Australasian was making over 1045,, and the average for finest was npt'abovo 102s. A curious point iv the situation isthe assimiliatlon in price, of New Zealand and Danish. These betters have been exactly tho same in prico since last Friday, a tbing which, hns never occurred before, it is believed in the history of the butter tra^e. Danish butter generally enjoying a premium of .5s to 8s per cwt over New Zealand.