Commonwealth contributions and British requirement of edible fats and oils.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS I950 supply are not likely to be restored to us. If the food subsidies are greatly reduced, and dairy produce and other foods are sold at something more nearly approaching the Cost of production, I doubt whether the consumption of butter will ever return to its prewar level, but the demand for butter will certainly continue to be greater than the present available supply. It is doubtful whether cheese consumption can be maintained at its present level when meat becomes more plentiful, but the market for supplies of concentrated or dried milks is by no means saturated. I hope that I have been able to show that the Commonwealth markets for dairy produce in the United Kingdom are capable of considerable expansion, particularly for butter and for concentrated and dried milks. With the wider appreciation of the high nutritive value of milk solids apart from the fat, the quantity of dried milk solids which could usefully be absorbed in this country is well beyond the Commonwealth's capacity to supply. I have in mind particularly a possibility that at some future date dried milk solids may be added to flour for bread making. There are definite signs that both Australia and Kew Zealand are eager to expand their export of dried separated milk. Unfortunately it necessitates a change in the butter industry from an organization in which only the cream is collected to one in which the whole milk must make the journey to the butter factory, and involving greatly increased needs for transport, heat and power for the production of milk powder. Few would argue that the cheese market is not saturated with the existing supplies, but I am one who believes that the total consumption could be expanded if the variety of cheeses offered to the housewife was greater. Cheddar is too strong and sharp for many palates which might be tempted by less acid types of cheese such as Gruyere, Edam, Gouda and Port Salut. The demand for Cheshire cheese in the north-west has never been satisfied since before the war. Commonwealth cheese makers might, with considerable ultimate advantage to themselves, examine the possibility of shipping a small proportion of their output as varieties other than Cheddar.