Efficiency in Production of Butter: being an Investigation into Certain Factors Affecting the Economic Aspects of Technical Efficiency of Butter Factories Operating in New Zealand, with Special Reference to the 1949/50 Season

Abstract

New Zealand's economy is dependent on dairying as a source of national income to a very market degree, for more then one-third of the country's total export income in is derived from this source. Of the total whole milk produced "at the pail" in the 1952-52 season, over 68 per cent was manufactured into creamery butter, yielding 200,000 tons. A revenue in excess of £52,000,000 was derived from this butter. A processing industry of this magnitude and importance merits close attention. Although much time and research have been devoted to technical manufacturing problems, very little analytical work has been conducted in New Zealand on the economic aspect of efficiency in dairy processing industry. Although data are available in the form of reports, compiled statistics and articles, they are descriptive in character, or mere compilations. As such they fail in the important task of analysis of the conditions they describe.