BIG DAIRY COMBINE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 137, 6 December 1929, Page 3

BIG DAIRY COMBINE

FOR BETTER MARKETING

NEW ZEALAND DAIRY COUNCIL

MUST MEETING

To meet the changed conditions in the world's markets, and to successfully confront co-ordinated and unified buying organisations by means of cooperative and unified marketing, the New Zealand Dairy Council, which held its first meeting at the Dominion Farmers' Institute yesterday, has been established. Mr.-Dynes Fulton (chairman of directors of Amalgamated Dairies, Ltd.) presided, and those also present were: Mr! W. Goodfellow, Messrs. W. Grounds, J. R. Corrigan, and J. Duulop (members of the Dairy Board) and the chairmen of 47 butter and cheese-producing companies from all parts of the Dominion, whose produce is being handled by Amalgamated Dairies, Ltd. The total quantity of produce represented by the gathering was valued at £6,500,000, the tonnage S m I prote amounting to: Butter 31,000 tons, cheese, 11,000 tons. In extending a welcome to the conference and wishing it every success m its work, the Mayor (Mr. G \ Iroup) commented on the rapid rise hi the value of dairy produce exports from £2,000,000 per annum twenty years ago to £18,300,000 last year. That tremendous increase, hu "s-iid showed that the future possibilities of the dairying industry were practically illimitable. On the whole production throughout the Dominion was well organised and highly efficient; and in the case of a New Zealand dairy industry the quality of its produce was well known abroad. The only weakness was at the marketing end, and no exception could be taken to the producer endeavouring to secure the better organisation of- his marketing facilities.

"QUITE THE BEST BUTTER."

The Director of the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture (Mr W. M. Singleton) said that during his recent trip to the Old Country he had been favourably struck by the advertising publicity given to New Zealand dairy produce. Notwithstanding storage conditions, New Zealand butter was regarded by the trade as being of excellent quality-—quite the best butter reaching Britain; and the practice adopted by the New Zealand Dairy Company, Ltd., of packing the butter m cartons, was admitted by the retailers to be popular with the public and increasing the demand for ' New Zealand dairy produce. He had been favourably impressed by the reception given .standardised cheese, and appreciated the efforts made by the industry to send forward a high quality article. He stressed the point that the vastly increased production now being sent to Britain justified the distributor in insisting upon a high quality article to enable him to market it satisfactorily. While better marketing was urgently desired throughout the dairying industry, they had to realise, stated the chairman, that the major problem was within the industry itself—there was undue competition in selling between producers, whereas the whole tendency at the buying end was for buyers to amalgamate and become fewer in number. The move taken that day would be for the ultimate benefit of tho whole industry.

AMALGAMATED DAIRIES, LTD.

Dealing in detail with tho history of the dairy produce export control policy and its abandonment, Mr. Grounds outlined tho subsequent development of Amalgamated Dairies and the enlargement of that scheme to permit of the participation-of the whole industry in an effort to secure better marketing organisation. Both the managerial and producer sides of Amalgamated Dairies had willingly met proposals to facilitate the co-operation of the whole industry in marketing improvement, and- the scheme now advanced had. been remodelled to meet all requirements. The industry now had the opportunity of co-operating witih an organisation which had reached a profit-earning basis, of participating in future profits on a liberal basis, and at the end of seveu years of buying out shareholding interests, if that course was desired. No share capital was required from participating companies, but two-thirds of profits earned after a certain figure' were earmarked for participating companies, in the form of either, deposits or preference shares bearing interest at 6 per cent. He recommended the scheme to the industry as a necessary phase in the evolution of orderly marketing. The industry had to work out its own salvation from that chaos into which the abandonment of control had launched it, and this scheme gave them the necessary rallying point.

CO-OEDINATED MARKETING.

On the failure of the control policy, stated Mr. Goodfellow, it was found necessary to organise an alternative, namely, Amalgamated Dairies. Tho objects of that organisation were:— (1) The orderly marketing of New Zealand dairy produce, and (2) the coordinated marketing of • Empire produce. Orderly marketing would be achieved by promoting the linking up of dairy companies with one central

organisation, and by developing in the United Kingdom markets alternative I to London. At present 92 per cent, of the butter of Australia and New Zealand went to London, although London received only 53 per cent? of the tot.il imports of dairy produce into the Lnited Kingdom. It would therefore be or benefit to systematic-ally develop 3K"«W StSS i ~ throughout the United Kingdom. These selling floors would receive .small con •signments direct from New Zealand, • The mam objective of orderly marketing, he; said, was to endnavou, , 0 lift the price level to the highest possible average figure. They had no intention of endeavouring to exti-u-t ■trom the market an artificial pie" That was impossible. They could only endeavour to get the maximum price by close organisation and eliminating unnecessary profits between the price W h oba c^ rMdthe^P»S

EMPIRE MARKETING. Another principal objective, Mr Goodtellow said, was to co-ordinate the marketing of Empire produce. To do this-Empire Dairies had been esfibX tTTI 1 AllI«'g;— ted Cries and the Australian Producers' Cooperative Association, with provision made for c try by V°)g™ African interests if desired. Ho behll W DairiCS WOuM be j. very big organisation. Tho Em- . In addition to the resolution suncort nsled 6in df ] t f *mr e ftee tr^ Publish ed in another column, the following resolutions were carried:— Ulig '!T, h. at tue Government be aske.l tn S lb to v r porvf checse«^ "That th« r yS S tM ma^aeture;» mat the Government be requested to abohsh the appointment of the£ and ™tl\° t? 6 ? alry C°atrol B°ard!» to remove' ttf Govera?ei* be asked

DIRECTORS ELECTED chm (nominated by Messrs. p. Muggei.dse and P. Lawson) were elected!^ Xo represent the South Island Messrs. J. Fisher and C. T. M'Calluni nominated. In an election by South Island voters, Mr. Fisher was returned by 11 votes to 9.