THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13797, 31 October 1908, Page 7

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

WEDDEL'S REVIEW FOR THE YEAR. BUTTER. The regular and substantial increase in the quantity of butter imported into the United Kingdom which has taken place, year by year, for the last quarter of a century, except in 1905, when imports fell off by 15,000 tons, has in 1908 received a more serious check, the imports of butter having declined to the extent of 18,143 tons, or 8i pei cent. The increase for the ten years prior to 1908 averaged 6,000 tons annually, so that there is a set back ol three average years to overtake. The total quantity of butter imported for the year just ended was 201,134 tons, consisting of 165,384 tons of foreign, and 35,750 tons of colonial. The reduction occurred altogether in the colonial division and amounted to 21,345 tons, whereas the foreign shewed an increase of 3,202 tons. This increase in foreign butter is spread somewhat irregularly over the ten countries which supply our markets. Denmark and France, despite their high state of development,were the only countries showing a substantial increase. Even Russia and the United States were unable to maintain their export, notwithstanding their vast territories. The colonial deficiency of 21,345 tons arose chiefly in Australia, Avhose shortage reached 11,627 tons. The Canadian supply showed a deficiency of 6,358 tons, and New Zealand arrivals were reduced by 3,360 tons. IMPORTS OF BUTTER FOR THE TEN YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 1908.

COLONIAL BUTTER. The most distinguishing feature of the colonial dairy produce trade for the year ended June 30, 1908, was the very serious falling off in supplies, amounting to 21,345 tons, which was a decrease of over 37 per cent, from the previous year, and nearly 9-;J per cent, of the total supplies from all sources. For the three previous years supplies of colonial butter had shown an average of 55,500 tons, but for the year under review they reached only 35,750 tons. This surprising shortage was brought about by droughts in Australia, New Zealand a,nd Canada. Thus the strange pnenainenon was. presented of every source of colonial supply being simultaneously afflicted by adverse climatic conditions, which were injurious alike to the colonial producers and British consumers. The consumers in the Mother Country suffered by having to pay more for their butter, as the foreign supply alone was not nearly sufficient to meet the fcildden demand to fill the place of colonial, and consequently prices in the United Kingdom, and in Europe generally, were higher than they had been for over twenty years. The total" contribution foreign butter-makers were able to make towards our colonial deficiency of over 21,000 tons was only 320.0 tons. The rise in prices ought to have compensated colonial butter-makers by an increase in value for the loss caused by th© short supply* and .might have done so had there been no butter substitutes to interfere with this. FrioM of butter here, however, rose to such an extent that margarine and other cheap substitutes for butter stepped in and supplied the general public with a nutritive commodity, in many cases far more palatable than much of the low quality butter which was offered, to consumers at very high prices; and the consequence was that prices of butter were brought down to a level which prevented the colonial 'producers reaping in value what they lost in quantity. Notwithstanding this- reduction,- high prices formed the second great feature of the past year. Not since the year 1883 had butter in the United King : dom sold at such a high level of value, and foreign butter-makers reaped an excellent harvest out of the scarcity of colonial supplies. On looking broadly at the year under review it appears to establish definitely a new condition which has gradually arisen during the past decade regarding the supply of butter in our winter months, viz., our great and growing dependency on the colonies for butter during that period. It is surprising with all the advantages of suitable and cheap transit now provided, that the foreign butter-makers did not increase their contribution to our needs by more than a mere 300u tons, which was not quite two per cent, over their supply of the previous year. It is true that Siberia was afflicted like our colonies by a droughty season, and sent, about 2000 tons less, but with all the attractions of a very dear market in the United Kingdom it was reasonable to suppose that other foreign supplies would have been able to make good any deficiency of colonial butter in our markets, yet the result has definitely established the contrary. NEW ZEALAND BUTTER. Imports. — The greatest reduction in supplies of New Zealand butter ever known on our markets was experienced during the year just ended. For the four previous years the imports had gradually declined, but the shrinkage had been only' small, amounting altogether to 1000 tons for the whole period, against a deficiency of 3360 tons in the past year. This great change was due to two distinct causes, one. unfortunate, and the other in its immediate effects profitable, whatever the ultimate results may be. The undesirable event was brought about by the rare phenomenon of a partial drought extending over a month or two, which in some districts, especially in the North Island, reduced the milk produotion very seriously. The other cause reducing the export of butter was the large expansion in the manufacture of cheese, which drew large quantities of milk away from the butter industry. Quality.— The difficulty of maintaining the quality of butter made under droughty conditions, did not affect tho reputation of the out-turn of New Zealand butter last year. Even in the driest and hottest 'districts the flavour and texture of the butter showed no serious depreciation from the previous year, which, however, was not considered one of the best seasons for high quality. The' presence of the Dairy Commissioner for the Dominion in this country, during the principal part of the season when the effects of hot weather are most liable to be seen in butter on its arrival, will, no doubt, have given him an insight into some of the weak points connected with its manufacture, and it is expected that tho elimination of these will follow as the result of his visit. With over 9f i>f>r cent, of the export' butter having been for some years placed in the first jj,rade, it is a question whether it might not now be advisable to make the grading more severe, and«o raise the stand-

arcl of quality even higher than it isat present. Australian and New Zealand prices. — The year which ended on June o0 last will be long remembered as that which resulted in the highest record for prices ever reached by Australian and New Zealand butter "in British markets. Therecord was a double one. Not only did the prices for a A\ef>k or two touch absolutely the highest figure ever obtained for both kinds, but the averageprice for the six months October to March inclusive ivas also a record achievement. During the panic which existed in February last both Australian and New Zealand butters were sold up to 150s per cwt. in large lines, while even 152s to 154s were obtained in many instances for small lots. The crisis affected both classes of butter, foreign as well as colonial, and it i^ necessary to go back to the year 188c 1 to find equally high prices for foreign. This was before Australasian butter? appeared on our markets. The top price for Australian butter for the six months October, 1907, to March, 1908, both months inclusive, averaged 120s lOd per cwt.; New Zealand, 122s 6d ; Danish, 1275; and Siberian, 115s 3d. For the month of February — the period of highest values — the Australian top price averaged 137s 6d per cwt.; New Zealand, 139s 6d ; Danish, 1435; and Siberian, 134s 6d. The crisis in February was brought about by the accumulation of deficiencies month h\ month since October, which were as follows: November 420 tons, December 2048 tons, and January 3234 tonsmaking a total shortage of 5702 tons compared with the previous year. Notwithstanding these increasing shortages, Australian and New Zealanc prices remained virtually at a dead level of 116s to 118s and 118s to 120s respectively, from the middle of November right up to the last week of January, when they rose 4s per cwt. Agents here were powerless to increase their selling prices of colonial, owing to the predominance of Danish butter which controls and regulates the general values of butter in our markets. Supplies from Denmark during November, December and January were only 122 tons more than in the previous year. Danish prices in the middle of November were 123s per cwt., and they made an advance of Is in December, and another Is in January. At last, the demand for the colonial butter broke through the dead weight of Danish predominency that had for weeks prevented the rise in prices of colonial. The ordinary economic law of supply and demand would have, adjusted prices on a fair basis," but the accumulation of pressure carried it to extremes, and the prices of Danish and all other butters were suddenly carried by the unfilled demand for colonial to extreme levels. The inevitable collapse followed, and colonial and foreign butter prices tumbled down headlong. Colonial values fell from 146s to 116s in the last , week, in\Februar.y, and Danish came down rtom. 152s to 126s at the same timer -> ." *•. COMPULSORY GRADING. ' Compulsory G over* men t'gradkifp' is still a burriiilg (question in Australia, and will continue so until it is adopted by the whole of tho States'in tho .Commonwealth. Unless grading be made "compiitsofy it loses the greater part of .its effie&fcy in improving the general quality of tile brtitter, and is. pf little real benefit : .to the State .-"-If "it be - -optkmalr itte'^ffe^s are delusive,- as only, those factories which already make the best butter avail themselves of the advantages of obtaining a Government certificate as to the excellence of their product. The great and indisputable claim for tlje system of Government grading lies m the, fact that, if it bo compulsory, it raises the quality of all butter in the State. -Connected with grading is the stamping of the number of the grade upon each box. At present, in New South and Victoria this is only partly in operation. Certificates are issued indicating the grade by reference to a number on the box. This is a very defective method. Often the certificates do not arrive until after the butter, sometimes they never arrive, and so in cases where the consignee here does not receive the whole of any given brand in a vessel, he does not know which butter belongs to him. Cross deliveries are made and general confusion follows. New Zealand and Queensland stamp the grade on every box, and the system works to perfection. CHEESE. Notwithstanding the growth of half-a-million a year in our population, the quantity of cheese manufactured in the United Kingdom, and the total quantity imported year by year, show no signs whatever of expansion. The data upon which the decrease of the home manufacture is founded is not based upon exact figures and so made definitely indisputable, but the general opinion of all those who have investigated the matter agrees that it is a diminishing quantity. With regard to tho quantity imported we have exact knowledge, and the Customs returns establish beyond any possibility of error that, per head of population," there is a steady and definite diminution going on, and the total imports for the year ended June 30 last were 8000 tons less than in 1898. This decline is most conspicuous in foreign cheese, which for the past year was 30,000 tons below the imports in 1900. They then reached nearly 54,000 tons, against barely 24,000 tons now. This great reduction occurred almost altogether from tho United States, which in 1900 sent ( us 32,183 tons, but in 1908 only 4712 tons. During the same period Holland showed a falling off to the extent of 3622 tons. IMPORTS OF CHEESE FOR THE TEN YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 1908.

COLONIAL CHEESE. During the last five 3-ears the total quantity of colonial cheese imported into the Home Country lias been 494,638 tons, against 399,421 tons during the previous five years, which shows an annual average increase of 19,043 tons, though last year there was a decrease of 4803 tons. The highest import reached was in 1904 which was /802 tons more than in 1908. It is a curious fact that notwithstanding the great falling off in tho import of American cheese during the last decade, the quantity of cheese received from the countries in the New World has formed on average above 80 per cent of our imported supplies. Canadian increases have, on the whole, balanced the losses from the United States, although there has been a steady decrease from both these new world sources during the past two years owing to unfavourable weather conditions. This recent reduction 111 supplies from across i] u . j Atlantic jias given an oppoitumiv lor ! the Dominion of New Zealand to make

up some of tho deficiency, and in the past two years imports from that source have advanced from 5,870 tons to 16,152 tons, and from the dry conditions existing at the moment in part* ot Canada, present appearances are iavourablo for New Zealand to make iurther advances in the coming season. Quality.— Improvement in quality continues to be shown both in Canadian and New Zealand cheese. The improved methods of curing and tho better transit arrangements of Canadian have added largely to the better ouahty which now prevails in this article. The interest and care taken by the Government in the manufacture anil grading of New Zealand cheese, and by the shipping companies in its carriage have also shown beneficial results, and there is a general acknowledgement on our markets that both flavour and texture are better than in former years. Australia, last year, sent a small shipment of cheese to' London, and the quality of some of it was very satisfactory; one shipment from New South Wales was superior in quality to the best Canadian, owing to it being made on the English Cheddar principle, and approached very closely to the English conditions of* manufacture, in having the milking herd close to the factory door, so that the milk was always in a sweet condition when it came under the cheese-maker's control. Prices. — A very great advance in the prices of colonial cheese in the United Kingdom has taken place and been maintained for the last three years over the previous three. Tho advance made on Canadian was 9s per cwt., or 16.6 per cent., and that on New Zealand showed an increase of 7s per cwt. or 12.5 per cent. This rise has been largely brought about by the diminished quantity of Canadian that has reached British markets during the past two years. The quantity imported for the year ended June u0 last was 15 per cent, beloiv two years ago, and 10.2 per cent below last year. PROSPECTS FOR NEXT SEASON. Butter. — The uncertainty attaching to tho supplies for the coming winter are much greater than usual. The high prices which have this summer ruled everywhere in the northern hemisphere, have resulted in very much less than the usual amount of butter going into cold store, and during the coming winter we shall be more dependent than ever on supplies from Australasia. Regarding Australian butter, less will be shipped from Victoria, but considerably more from New South Wales, and from Queensland some increase is expected. New Zealand will send increased supplies of both butter and cheese, provided the season is not unfavourable. J The bad condition of trade in America, Canada, Europe, and the United Kingdom, will greatly diminish the purchasing power of the mass of consumers, and thus tend to reduce the demand. The amount of fodder is so abundant in Europe and America that the herds for milking will most probably be larger than they were last winter. Cheese. — The uncertainty mentioned about supplies of butter attaches equally to those of cheese. In Canada the "niake" of this summer is dependent on the weather, which at the present tihle in some districts has become dry, .and thus .changed for the worse. The amount of cheese made will to some ex--feent depend upon the permancy or temporary character of this change. In preparing this forecast ot supplies and prices the definite rise in the value gone on now for some years, must not of all commodities which has steadily be overlooked. Appearances at present are in fayjoui" of this movement having reached its limit, but there 'isno certainty on 'this point. •';•<.' . v ' So far as can be judged at present the probability is that the averagge values of both butter and cheese 1 during the coming season will be on a 1 somewhat lower level than obtained 'in the past season.

Year. 1899 ]900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 New Zealand 4528 7949 8912 8295 9575 15,836 15,667 1:5,177 14,852 11,492 Grand Total. 164,636 171,491 175,459 187,907 200,186 218,943 203,897 215,493 219,277 201,134

Year 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1900 1907 1908 New Zealand 1474 3973 418G 2710 2617 4111 • 4072 5870 • 8597 13,152 . Grand Total. 120.737 128,605 131.038 125,252 129,599 135,777 122,062 ' 130,062 125,590 118,595