EMPIRE FOOD PRODUCTS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 17 November 1927, Page 4

EMPIRE FOOD PRODUCTS

T‘HE annual Grocery and Allied Trades’ Exhibition was held at the Agricultural Hall, London, towards the end of September, when ample evidence was afforded of the way in which the Empire is becoming more nearly sell-supporting in the matter of food production. A writer in the “Times,’’ referring to the exhibits, points out that, where Io or 20 years ago, American products held front rams, there stood a wiue range of Empire commouities, in the display of winch the agents of the Empire Marketing boaru had a great deal to do. in regard to a number of staple foodstuffs, the old monopoly of America has been broken. Notably is this so in the case of canned meats and cheese, the trade in which is passing rapidly to Australia, ana New Zealand. Australia is also now securing a much larger share of the business in dried fruits, as to which quality and marketing arrangements have both vastly improved in the last two or three years. In other directions, there is a similar movement illustrating the change which is going on. There have been criticisms in days gone by of tie quality and methods of packing Empire foods, but the need for criticism has now largely passed, and the home trader can buy and sell all Empire foods on merit.

The writer quoted concludes by saying that the ties of a common blood and a common tongue have done much to foster this interEmpire industry, and that it is undeniable that distributers and consumers in Great Britain give preference to colonial products. This latter statement may not agree with what, according to one of to-day’s cables, a retail fruiterer had to say when discussing the question or applying the provisions of the Merchandise Marks Act to foreign apples and pears. He is reported as saying that, so far as retail customers are concerned, not one in a thousand had a scrap of sentiment as to the origin, whether within or without the Empire, of what was being purchased. ‘‘lt is the fourpenny toilfh that goes. A mother of five kids does not buy sentimentally, but to get the best value for her money.” This may be so in households where purses are small and mouths many. But there can be no doubt but that with a very great and continually growing number of British consumers there is a distinct tendency to give preference to Empire products. The great point for the producers to note is that they must aim both at improvement in the quality of their products, at presenting them in attractive form, and at reducing the costs of production so as to admit of sales at competitive prices. Only in these ways is the preference that is undoubtedly shown to be fostered and maintained.