MARKETING NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 66, 10 December 1921, Page 12

MARKETING NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE

Sj r> —in your issue of May 19 I notice a letter dealing with the above subject advocating the Farmers' Union sending Home a man with very special qualifications to look after thei marketing of Our produce generally, but your r.flrespondent is only touching the fringe of a much bigger problem. Under a system of national co-operative marketing it would be quite unnecessary, as each industry would be under the control of members of that industry right from the producer to the consumer, the actual marketing being done by experts in the Old Country, paid and controlled by the producers in this Dominion. I cannot a ( 'iee with your correspondent’s contention in regard to shipping that the time is inopportune, as with approximately 1000.000 tons more shipping in the world to-day than before the war, and with steamers selling recently from .£7 to XI 10s per ion, as against J 135 eighteen months ago, the time seems particularly favourable.. As to finance, with the whole of Um producers behind the scheme there would be little difficulty in the Government raising a loan on cur

behalf, especially as all our primary products must lie shipped through our own line, it would be impossible io fail. The essence of any scheme to be .successful must be compulsion; tho voluntary system has failed. Any thinking man must have noticed the trend of business to combine and amalgamate huge concerns into still larger ones. This has been particularly marked in shipping. The war lias changed many things and tho producer must be prepared to think big and act big. AVho fixes the price of our products to-day ? Certainly not the producer. It is well known that m the early part of this year (during the slump) our meat was being ™tailed at Home for Is. 6d. per lb., whilst Uw producer was receiving (id., out of hl iich ho paid 4d. for freight, freezing, etc. ’Evidently the law of supply and demand did not apply in this case. Owing to their splendid organisation and combing tion the big trusts and combines act togethor, and fix the price of our produce freights etc., to suit themselves. Our onlv remedy is to take a lesson from them and market our primary products under one control-that of tho men v wow them. There are plenty of keen, capable, business men amongst the producers to act on The necessary boards. With all our meat being sold through ou own shops, all our dairy produce through deiiots, going Home in our own ships, the trust menace will disappear both here and in the Old Country so far as New Zealand produce is concerned. Ife would simply cut off his supplies. 1 notice another correspondent suggests making use of the Washington Conferenco to eliminate the trust. they continue to thrive in America, in Fpibe of anti-trust; llegislation. The whole problem of marketing and shipping must bo solved quickly unless half the producers are to go bankrupt. The policy to be adopted should ba decided by the producer alone, and not by any outside body; self-help, not State control, is our remedy. It is in our own hands. Sending men Homo will not cure the evil The only cure is tho knife and U ° t a P<>UI GRiiDAI,E ANDERSON. Mahan, Pelorus Sound, November 30, 1921.