Continued Increase In Output Of Chief Dairy Products

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 59, Issue 3, 15 September 1939, Page 227

Continued Increase In Output Of Chief Dairy Products

Imperial Economic Committee's Annual Review Of Production and Trade

THE annual review of production and trade in dairy-produce, recently issued by the Imperial Economic Committee,* notes a continued increase in the output of the chief dairy products and the maintenance of international trade in butter at the high level attained during the past two or three years. International trade in cheese has been declining for several years, although this tendency was checked to some extent during 1937, while trade in eggs, which had

recovered in 1936 from a downward trend lasting for some years, has since increased further.

Butter Consumption

The increase in world butter production and trade during a number of years has been accompanied by a remarkable expansion of consumption in the United Kingdom, but more recently, with an increase in butter-prices and in the consumption of margarine, this trend appears to have been reversed. There has not been, however, either in the United Kingdom or in Empire countries overseas, any marked reduction in the total consumed, while in Germany the past two or three years have witnessed a pronounced increase.

There still remain large differences as between different countries in the level of consumption. This is highest in the overseas Dominions, where an annual figure of from 301 b to 401 b per head is usual; but in the chief consuming countries of Continental Europe and in the United States the comparable figures are more commonly from 121 b to 201 b per head. In the United Kingdom per caput consumption has recently averaged about 251 b per annum. International Trade Until very lately the growing world exports of butter were directed towards the United Kingdom market, but Germany has for some years now been taking increasing quantities, and there has been among the smaller European importing countries some relaxation of the restrictions on imports which were imposed during the crisis years. The United Kingdom, however, remains by far the most important market and still takes about four-fifths of the total butter entering world trade. Approximately one-half of the United Kingdom’s import's come from Empire countries.

The United Kingdom is also the most important market for cheese, although to a much smaller extent than for butter, as Germany, Belgium, France, and the United States all import considerable quantities. In contrast to butter, international trade in cheese has tended to decline in recent years, and exports from New ' Zealand, the Netherlands, and Canada are now much smaller than a few years ago. There was, however, during 1937 a check to this decline. The United Kingdom’s imports, 90 per. cent, of which are from Empire sources, have moved, on the whole, within fairly narrow limits during the

past seven or eight years, declining until 1936 but thereafter recovering. The consumption of cheese has in many cases tended to increase, the United Kingdom, with an annual figure of from 81b to 91b per head, being the only important consumer to show a persistent reduction in recent years. The level of consumption in European countries is considerably higher than in Empire countries, occasionally being as much as 151 b to 201 b per head, and in general appears to have advanced during the past few years. Import of Eggs International trade in eggs was declining up to 1935, but has since

recovered, and an expansion in shipments from most of the exporting countries of Northern Europe has more than offset a decline in those from the Southern Hemisphere. The United Kingdom has taken the bulk of these heavier exports, but Germany also in the past two or three years has imported increasing quantities. The former country accounted for very nearly half the total world exports , in 1937, and the latter for nearly onequarter. A survey of the available figures seems to indicate that in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Eire, a decline in consumption has been'recorded in the past few years.

Dairy-produce Prices

Prices for dairy-produce and eggs have to a large extent recovered from the low levels to which they had fallen during the depression. By 1937 butterprices on the United Kingdom market were little lower, on average, than in 1931, while those for cheese showed an even more marked recovery, prices in 1937 almost attaining the 1930 level. The fall in prices was not so severe for eggs as for milk products, and, although quotations for home-produced eggs were by 1937 almost as high as six years earlier, those for imported eggs showed a much smaller recovery. The upward movement in butterprices continued during the greater part of 1938, although from the middle of the year the margin over the corresponding 1937 quotations was narrowing, and in the late autumn quotations fell below the previous year’s level. A somewhat similar trend was recorded for cheese and egg prices, which also during 1938 exceeded, on average, the corresponding figures for 1937, although towards the end of the year they were below the comparable figures for the preceding year. Milk Products The review includes a survey of production and trade in processed milk and casein. The output of the former commodity expanded considerably in the United Kingdom after 1933 and in 1937 was more than three times as great as in the earlier year. The total manufactured in the United Statesby far the largest producer—and in the Netherlands has also increased considerably. The United Kingdom remains the largest importer of processed milk, although the quantities now taken are very much smaller than a few years ago. The trade in casein has been fairly well maintained. Argentina and France remain the chief exporters of this product, which is marketed chiefly in the United Kingdom and Germany.

During the early spring a considerable quantity of Cape barley was sown in the vicinity of Pakowhai, Hawke’s Bay, on a lot of silted land. This barley has done very well and many of the harvests have been in the vicinity of 60 to 70 bushels per acre.

* “ Dairy-produce ”: A summary of figures of production and trade relating to butter cheese, preserved milk, casein, eggs, and egg products. Published by H.M. Stationery Office for the Imperial Economic Committee. 2s. 6d. net; post free, 2s. Bd.