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On the whole, Empire butter appeared to be particularly popular 
with the large provision firms ; it was stocked in nearly three-quarters 
of the branches of non-local multiple organisations and in the five 
department stores included in the enquiry. 
In the Second Survey the decrease in the sales of Australian and 
New Zealand butter was partly offset by the increase in Irish, and 
on the whole the relative position of Empire butter appeared to be 
only slightly lower than in the First Survey. In Birmingham, 
there was a sharp decrease in Australian sales with little corresponding 
increase in Irish, but in Liverpool on the other hand the popularity 
of Irish in the summer more than counterbalanced the decrease in 
other Empire types. 
The prevailing opinion amongst those retailers with experience of 
Empire butter was that its popularity had increased within the last 
two years, particularly in London, Liverpool and Birmingham. 
V.—RETAIL PRICES. 
As indicated in a previous section, it was not possible in all cases 
to distinguish between the various grades of butters and between 
salted and unsalted varieties. For the purposes of this report, 
therefore, butter from any one country is considered as one type. 
Many of the main types of bulk butter sold in this country are of 
one variety or grade ; in those cases where more than one variety or 
grade is sold, this would account for some part of the range in the 
retail prices recorded for these types. 
An attempt was made to trace the retail price movement over the 
period of the enquiry and a weekly record was kept of the prices noted. 
As these prices were from different shops and different towns each 
week, they are not strictly comparable, but on the whole the areas 
are sufficiently varied for the monthly averages shown in Figure IV 
Eo be fairly representative. 
The enquiry extended overa period of six months (April-September, 
1929) ; during that time the average retail prices of most butters 
fose about 1d. per pound. Wholesale prices of butter in 1929 were 
falling during the early part of the year. In April when the enquiry 
started, they had begun to rise ; from July to August there vas a 
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