It will go down a little soon - just long enough to think how lucky we are it has reduced for a while - then rise again, like it has done year-on-year.
The butter stranglehold on the people of New Zealand never ceases to amaze me - that they can charge so much for the usual blob of over-salted, average-quality butter beggars belief. It's the brazen way it is assumed Kiwis will continue to be prepared to stump up for arguably the most costly, low-end quality butter around the world.
In the words of an annoying advert - we could do better!
We have virtually no choice on quality. In Europe there are many styles and tastes of butter. In the average medium-cost supermarket you can get more than 30 different types, including rich flavours from Denmark; Normandy butter; pale and delicate flavours from Holland etc. All much cheaper than here - often by half.
Look over the pond and see. Look at some of the online shopping sites you may have seen on your OE.
We are stuck with monopolies controlling the price and how deep it gouges. Milk producer monopolies with foodstuff giants, all of which seem to have regulatory protection. "Ahh", I hear, "we have to follow international pricing, you know. And we must give loyal support to our national companies."
If that were true the prices in the store would drop with the international market too, but the milk companies use the New Zealand public as a buffer to keep their profits looking good for their shareholders.
It's all protected from international competition, so they have the market cornered. Cynical manipulation of loyalties and patriotism continues, while other Kiwi traditions fall by the wayside: Guide Biscuits need to have poly-unsaturates now instead of butter - just like the Anzac biscuits. "Ladies, bring a plate" now has to be butter-free cooking to be affordable.
Many quality home bakers are pushed to the limits of what they can afford in their desire to offer cake to strangers, newly moved-in neighbours, or church occasions, and so much more besides that homes in on the real heart of Kiwi culture of generosity. It's much cheaper to buy the cake ready-made; so filled with artificial fat it will never go stale.
I long for the days when containers of international butter come into ports near you and unloaded the lovely refrigerated goodness on to the shelves at a reasonable profit, but undercutting the price gougers - just like the New Zealand refrigerated steamers used to do so long ago to Britain.
But I doubt it will happen. We will all go back to sleep in our butter stranglehold and dream of yesterday's glories and never complain at the way the market goes. But as you sleep - I will whisper of cheeses, too.
That Canadian Cheddar is so sharp and creamy. It goes with pickles and is a dream for cheese toasties.
I will mention in passing all the hundreds of different cheeses at cheaper prices from all over the world.
Steve Gill, a self-described old curmudgeon, is a Dunedin resident.
