NATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING SCHEME

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 223, 15 June 1921, Page 5

NATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING SCHEME

Sir, —I have read with interest and wonder, the letter on the above scheme in your issue of Juno 11, signed by Grimsdale Anderson, and I cannot too strongly recommend farmers to be extremely careful how they are led into schemes with the above object. Wouldbe reformers, like ' Mr. Anderson, should give you some practical proof of national co-operative marketing in New Zealand to show that it is practicable; in a simple way first, to dispose of all local New Zealand consumed primary products, before you are led into this money-losing scheme. It is the "dog and the bone” farce tried on the markets thousands of miles away. Way „not get the balance-sheets of the houses in the markets where the farmers are eelling their goods end get an expert business man’s opinion of how much these firms get out of the primary products from New Zealand compared with the whole of the different firms’ expenses. As a rule the system of selling is done by firms -rho market the primary products from all producing countries in the world, and those firms would lose very heavily if they had to organise a marketing scheme to sell only New Zealand’s primary products. Many well-meaning farmers make the fatal mistake of believing that producing what people require is about seveneighth; of the whole business of production, distribution and consumption whereas it is loss than half the business. The distribution is, if anything, more difficult work, requiring more skill than production. The amount of capital required in England alone for distribution and the enormous losses made in bad debts would not justify taxation in this country for such a scheme. I am certain your correspondent does not understand the Danish marketing of butter from their manufacture, because we have a much better system of marketing New Zealand butter* and cheese at Homo than tho Danes have. The one big attempt at co-operative marketing from Denmark resulted in a loss of about one million sterling owingto fraud practised on the farmers by one man, who got the power in his hands owing to the defects of such schemes. It is not possible to gain anything out of concentration and control to influence the market unless tho buyers are unable to purchase goods equal to New Zealand quality from other sources. If your correspondent will concentrate in the direction of producing more primary products per acre, secure better handling and shipping more so as to feed the market in a manner that will be conducive to better distribution, he and . hie fellow-farmers will be doing some practical good at little cost. In some ways eoiee of the primary products of this country are, and have been, handled in a. ruinous way. The irregularity of shipping, storing, etc., is costing tho farmers of this country enormous sums of money in the shane of losses.

There are too many farmers’ reforms needed in this country to justify any energy spent overseas in trying to compete with well-established firms who have made distribution a science. The science of marketing applied to the distribution of wool, meat, etc., during tho last four years, would have minimised this slump to a great extent. It is the handling of primary products during the last four years outside the ordinary channels that has caused a more strious slump than there was any necessity for.—I am, etc., S. TURNER. Maritime Buildings, 'Wellington, June 14, 1921.