THE PRICE OF BETTER

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1682, 5 November 1925, Page 5

THE PRICE OF BETTER

SALES ON THE LOCAL MARKET.

SOME BRANDS LOWERED BY TWOPENCE PER LB.

It is understood that, dating from to-day, the retail price of factory butter in the Auckland province will be reduced from Id and 2d per lb. A leading exporter stated to a newspaper representative that this reduction is apparently the result of local competition, and is certainly not warranted by the present position regarding exports. i _ . The New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company first announced an impending reduction of 2d per lb in regard to its various brands, and the Auckland Marketing Committee, representing other factories, has responded with an agreement to reduce the price of its butter by Id per lb. , The New Zealand Dairy Company has now definitely decided to reduce Lie retail price of all three grades of its butter by 2d per lb. from to-day. Inquiry in Auckland elicited the information that, although on the previous occasions when a rise has been contemplated the Auckland office of the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company has consulted with the secretary of the Auckland Butter Factories’ Marketing Committee, and the rises have been taking place simultaneously, on this occasion, however the big company has seen fit to make a huge drop of 2d per lb without any consultation with other dairy companies which are operating on the local market. The price is being dropped as from Tuesday, and will take effect, so far as the public is concerned, on Thursday, sth instant. At midday on Tuesday the local committee met to consider the position, and decided to drop their price Id per lb. They decided on this course, m order to meet competition as far_^ s could be expected reasonably. The public naturally inquires why other butter is higher in price than the New Zealand Dairy Company’s, and it i? due to the consumers that the position should be adequately explained. 'The new price list for all butters associated with the butter committee is: Superfine pats. Is Bid per lb net; first grade, Is 8d per lb net; seconds, Is 7d per lb net. The price of New Zealand Dairy Company’s “Anchor” pats is Is 7id, “1 Acorn ” pats, Is 7d per lb net; and “ Daffodil ’ pats, Is 6d per lb net. Thus it is plain that the butter committee is lid per lb higher than “Anchor and Id higher than the other two brands. The retail prices of the New Zealand Dairy Company’s butters will be Is lOd, Is 9d, and Is Bd, while the butter committee’s list will be Is lid, Is lOd, and Is 9d. . m „ (According to the report in Tuesday morning’s Herald, the New Zealand Dairy Company publishes its Lonaon cable, which reads: ‘Anchor, 2165. The parity is therefore Is B§d per lb f.o.b. Last week, when the Tainui was loading, large parcels of butter were sold f.o.b. at Is B|d, thus showing that the purchasers in Great Britain anticipate a high price at least till after Christmas. The New Zealand Dairy Company also supports this view in its London report, for it states that there is every indication of a better demand and high prices. In spite of this optimistic forecast the management here adopts the course of dropping its price 2d a lb. The old price at which butter was selling was very near a parity of the London price, and there was not the slightest necessity to make any drop. . , The committee is of the opinion that this information should be given to the press, for.it is generally known among the grocers that the drop in price has taken effect from to-day. The interval of two days, of course, is for the purpose of allowing the grocers to unload stocks at the higher figure.