PRICE OF BUTTER.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 46, Issue 14200, 26 August 1920, Page 5

PRICE OF BUTTER.

NEW ZEALAND OFFERED 280 s. 4 The New Zealand Butter Committee «at in Wellington yesterday to consider the offer made by the Imperial Government for the purchase of the exportable surplus of butter from this country. It lias been commonly .supposed that the best offer received by the butter producers of this country had been the offer made to the Australian, butler people, of approximately.. 240 s per cwt. This offer the New Zealand- producers did not accept. They asked, first of all. a free market, but this demand they did not secure. However, they did secure an offer a great deal better than that made to Australia. - The committee had before it yesterday an offer from the Imperial Government of 280 s per cwt,, but fhe o!fer was-to hold up. to January -'list next. The committee has cabled to ask that the term V extended to coincide with terms of other contracts,. which have invariably: been up till July 3 Ist. It is the hope of the committee that this counter-proposal from New Zealand will be accepted. It is also the opinion of the committee that in view of the added price'.for New Zealand butter it will be necessary for the Imperial Government to give more for Australian butter, for it is admitted that there is no difference in quality to make the difference in price justifiable. The consumer of butter is interested iu all this as affecting the price he will have to pay for butter locally. At 280 s per cwt. for export, it does not seem that butter can be retailed at loss than 2s 9d per lb. The price will probably be still higher, unless steps are taken by the Government, as in recent past years, to keep the price below the export parity.