WOOL & PRODUCE MARKETS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2680, 28 January 1916, Page 8

WOOL & PRODUCE MARKETS

INVESTIGATIONS OF A NEW ZEALAND

PRODUCER | HOW GOODS ARE HANDLED IN ENGLAND CRITICISM & SUGGESTIONS The following letter written by Mr. H. D. Vavasour, of "Ugbrooke," Blenheim, to tile members of the Advisory Board of the Bristol and Dominions' Producers' Association, Wellington, is of interest to farmers of all classes:— Dear Sirs,—Thinking you would liko to hear my impressions as to the conduct and success of this company in England, as gathered during my stay in England, I will now endeavour to give tlieni as concisely as possible. You are aware that the objects for which the company was formed were as follow: — 1- To bring the producer into the closest touch with the cousumer. 2. To market produce at the minimum of cost to the producer, and to reduce tho number of channels through which it passes. 3. To get all colonial produco put on tho market as such. 4. To act as independent brokers to, the producer. 3. To prevent, if possible, the formation of trusts and rings. I will therefore take' tlieso various objects and .discuss them seriatim:

Reaching tho Consumer. Ist.and 2nd: For these purposes the company is establishing all over England depots and agents who distribute meat direct to the shops, Ir.rge and small, and by getting the producers to send consignments direct to Bristol, Liverpool, and Hull they can do so at tho unniimum cost. According to the latest Haiiway Clearing House Official Railway Maps of England and Wales the population of _ collccting and distributing areas, which arc served from tho four eiiief centres, are as follow:— London 15,583,868 Hull .... 11,282,881 Liverpool 9,882,51)11 Bristol .. 7,669,786 28,335,167 Meaning that "8,535,16" people can be served cheaper from Hull, Liverpool, mid Bristol than from London, and out ol tho above London area tho estimated population of, Greater London, i.e., witiiin a radius of ton miles of Chaiing Cross, is between nine and ten millions. This being the case, it is easy to see that the concentration of trade lii London must result in an enormous loss to the producer, .without reckoning the facilities given for the -formation of trusts, rings, and combines for his exploitation. These. remarks apply equally to all produce, except "wool. 3rd: "To got all colonial produce put on the market as such." This, our company is striving for to its utmost, and (although it has only been established something under twelve months, and under very difficult conditions owing to the war), the amount of trade established is wonderful. In addition to meat depots all over the country, we have_ direct representatives and stores in' Bristol, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast, Newcastle, Brighton, Southampton, and Plymouth, already established, where . stocks of canned meats, jam, honey, and other produce are sold and delivered to retail Krocers direct, and sold bv them for what they really arc, lake honey, for instance. The Bristol Company have had for some six months or so past the sole agency for . the N.Z.H.P. Association. Air the honey is put up in attractive vessels under the N.Z.H.P. Association's brand, and,although' only started this year the number of grocers tho Bristol Company has supplied with one case or over, is over 2000; in . addition many hundreds of small grocers are stocking it. The same is being done with all tho other produce, i.e., it is the company's policy to put all produce on the market advertised as from the country of its origin. , Take canned meat, for instance. It Is almost impossible to buy it under its own brand. In the majority of cases it is sold by brokers to largo packing houses rr wholesale houses, who put their own labels on it, and, as probably _ they put up large quantities of interior American stuff under the same labels, canned moat all round suffers m consequence. Whereas, if it was sold under its own mark, a first-class' reliable brand would bring'a correspoudinri.V good price.. Something of tho same kind has happened witli butter. It is bought largely by tile wholesale houses for mixing purposes, and rarely sold under its mal brand. If it were so, I am certain it would top the market.

Conditions in London. 4th and sth: "To act as independ-' ent brokers, and "to prevent, if possible, the formation of trusts and rings. - I know of few independent brokers in England to whom a producer can ship his produce, other than fcne Bristol Company. A producer shit>. ' ping produce of any kind ships through a merchant or bank. Take meat, for instance. On its arrival in London the usual course is for the merchant or bank to hand it over for salo to one or other of the large Smithfield firms, who sell it how and when they choose, rtlosfc ot these salesmen are dealers themselves, that is, buyers and sellers both. Is it consistent with human nature, therefore, that the producer gets a fan- deal? On the contrary, tlio whole method .tends to the fonnation of trusts and rings, and the consequent spoliation Of the producer. When 1 was in England in 1908 I spent a considerable time in tho frozen meat business, and in an interview winch X gave to the New Zealand Press Association in Lwidon,. I complained of_ the many abuses which then obtained, and stated that the proper condxict of the trade seemed to bo nobody's business, fhis time I have come to the conclusion I can make the same comment on nearly the whole of the Now Zealand trade.

I arrived in England about June 20 iast, and very shortly after went down to the docks to see how wool was handled (having seve.i years ago confined myS6li to fcliG inoflfe business). I found' a, state of things which was truly awful. As a -result of the congestion' of the storage sjiace (owing to the war and the shortsightedness of dumping everything into London, irrespective of where it had to be consumed), a large quantity .of wool, estimated at from four to five thousand bales, was on the open wharves. This was supposed to be covered with tarpaulins, but in some cases tlicy had blown off, in some there were large holes, and. generally the tarpaulins only came down as far as the top of the bottom tier. As it had been very wet weather for some tinie before my visit the state the wool .was in can bo imagined. There was insufficient dunnage under the bates, and in some cases none at all. I took a note of some of the Now Zealand brauds. When I returned to London I'interviewed several morchants, bankers,, and brokers, and found the state of tilings existing was unknown to them. I startled them by niv description of what f had seen, especially when I put the very natural question of "Who is liable for the damage?" After a fow days .this is what I learnedi-r

_1. Tho ships' owners disclaimed liability after tho wool had been landed on tlie wharf. '2. Tho Port of London Authority sholtored itself under a notice issued by it (early in tho war), disclaiming any liability for damage ill tho congested state of the docks during the war. 3. Tho warehousemen asserted they wero not responsible until they had received dolivery of tho goods. 4. The insurance companies maintained they were not liable for damago by fresh water. Who thon was liable? I took high legal opinion on this, ana was advised that the shippers' agent was liable. I gave an interviow on tlhis matter to the "British-Australasian," which was published in its issue of August 16, and, en passant, I may say that among other inaccuracies they made me say that, "In no case was there any dunnage under the wool," instead of "In some cases there was none," and. although I immediately wrote to the editor asking him to correct the inaccuracy, it wa-s not until September 23, and after 1 had brought considerable pressure to hear, that ho had the courtesy to mako the correction. The extraordinary thing in regard to this matter, and indeed, in the matter of handling all produco in London, is that as far as I could make out, ono's agents seldom exercise direct supervision over our produce. Tho whole of tho work is dono in the offices, and, in the majority of cases the goods «re never seen by one's agents.

Facilities at Different Ports. Witli regard to improvements at the London Docks. Tlioy have nearly completed a new meat store -with a. capacity of 500,000, but as regards handling the meat, the methods used are as crude as thoy were seven years ago. While I was in England I visited the Bristol Docks, and was shown over by the general manager, Mr. Ross Johnson. There they have in course of erection a new meat store with a capacity of 500,000. which will bo fitted up, as are their other stores,with every up-to-date device for the proper handling of meat. I should say the facilities for handling meat and all sorts of produce, but especially meat, would bo equal to anything in the world, if not better. Liverpool.—l did not see Liverpool this time, but from what I saw last time I was in England, I know that the facilities are everything that' can bo desired. Hull. —At the request of Mr. Austin Wilson, London agent for the Hull and Barnsley Railway, I went up,to Hull with him, and we were taken over tho docks by Mr. J. Shaw, the goods manager of the Hull and Bariisley Railway. Here I found everything satisfactory, and the appliances for handling meat and produce up-to-date in every way. They claim, that they can handle and distribute meat and other produce cheaper than any other port in England. Uniformity of Grade and Continuity or Supply.

In summing up tlie position at Home, gentlemen, I can assure you that I was astonished at. the strides .the company has made under tho able management of Major Norton in such a short time, and under tho adverse circumstances caused by the war. I have llot the slightest doubt of the ultimate success of the oompany. There arc, howover, several matters I wish to draw your attention to, as of great importance to tho moat, butter, cheese, and, in fact, all produce, except wool, and that is the continuity of supply and the uniformity of grade. As regards meat, I can only reiterate what 1 advocated seven years ago, viz., a Government grade, for the whole of New Zealand. lam satisfied it could be done, and it would be to the benefit of tho whole of the Dominion trade. As regards continuity of suj ply of meat, it •would be a great thing, but more difficult to obtain.

To have butter and cheese marketed under the Government brand would, I am sure, enhance \shcir value enormously, and a continual supply throughout the year is what is asked for in England on all sides, not only by grocers, .but by private individuals as well., In butter and cheese, as well as in meat, you just open a good connection and got it well established when the supply stops, lour client has to obtain his wants somewhere else, and in the majority of cases, you lose your customer altogether.' It would be well if producers wont into this matter of continuity of supply in a thorough manner.

The .American Meat Combines. llie most important matter with regard to the meat trade, and one which is of the most vital importance to the whole of the producers of the Dominion, is the fact of the American Meat Combines obtaining a footing in New Zealand. liarly m last year the New Zealand Government was cautioned that the American Meat Trusts were obtaining a foothold in this country. Wo were assured there was no cause for alarm and that the Government would guard the country. What has happened? . At the present time, owine to the supmeness of the Government,"the American Meat Trusts are firmly established, and at least four of the tareeso packing houses in Chicago, viz fawift .Armour,. Cudahy, and Morris! are established in full swing, and in a very short time they will rule the industry m New Zealand unless prompt action is taken. It is common talk in liondon that most of the large meat men m Smithfield are working in with the American Combine, and I was constantly asked: "Are you producers »o----ll?r to J ake , tll,s . thine lying down, and allow the Americans to dominate the whoie of your meat trade?" It • behoves, therefore, the meat producers of the Dominion to take the most strenuous action to safeguard their interests, and insist that the Government should take proper steps for our protection, and that, immediately! Tha Government has been cautioned as to what was. taking place time and again and seemingly nothing has been done' It is time the matfor should be taken m hand, and dealt with fully, or the Government will earn the well-deserved opprobrium of the whole colony. ' One word as regards the Bristol Company acting as agents in London. J'here seems to he an erroneous idea about, that the company does not receive consignments.in London. Oil the contrary, wc are in a position io receive and handle consignments of ail produce, in London just as satisfactorily as m Bristol, Hull, or Liverpool, and all produce consigned to the company iu London will receive just as much attention as it would in Bristol Liverpool, or Hull, and would be •'V ," st . personal supervision from the ship's side until marketed. 11l conclusion, gentlemen, I think we can congratulate ourselves on the success already attained by the company, and [ am sure if tlie producers will only give it the support it deserves it will be an immense benefit to the country, and attain all the objects for w.iich it was fonnctl.-I am, gentlemen, faithfully yours, „ , \SgdJ H. D. VAVASOUR. Ugurooke, Blenheim, January 8

TAINUI'S LOADING PROGRAMME, Leaving Auoklaud to-morrow ]; c Tainui, of tile Shav-Savill fleet, slioiild arrive hero m time to commence dis • charge of licr London cargo on Monday morning. On February 3 she will leave Lyttelton and Port Chalmers to compl-to Loading operations will be commenced «t the southern port, and o. visit win b e paid to Lyttelton for the same purpose wheii the vessel is en route to Wellington' The Tainui will arrive here on Sntuulay' February 12, and will sail for London' on I'ebruary 16.