DAIRY WEALTH AND PROBLEMS

Hokitika Guardian, 2 September 1930, Page 8

DAIRY WEALTH AND PROBLEMS

• <■ •>. : ■ - ;1: -" ■ ■■■ "■ (Auckland Star.). In several . respects the annual meeting of the New Zealand Cooperative Dairy,. Company-is of extraordinary interest.. The size of the company’s tiirnpyer, the 00-operatiye nature of its, b ( ujsiness, the multiplicity of its interests, combine to give it a place of its ,own in New Zealand and the Empire. f ,Here is, a concern with h turnover of £6,612,000 and an output of over: 44,000 tons, which makes butter and cheese and allied products, conducts subsidiary businesses, and is linked with marketing organisations that control a large portion of New. Zealand’s output. It. manufactures the products of the farmer and does much to educate him in the ways ofi better farming. Most valuable work is being done in the •improvemeoit of. .pastures,, and of herds. As a result of herd testing the output per cow in the Dominion has risen from. 1751 b to 2251 b in seven years, which means a large addition to the, wealth of the Dominion at small cost.

The truth is that the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company is the largest example in New Zealand of the process known as “rationalisation,” which many business irien and economists believe will eventually be the general rule. At a recent meeting (Mr Goodfel/low 1 gave some impressive figures for the growth of combined buying in Britain, arid justified the operations"'of new selling organisations, in New Zealand on the ground that combination had to be met by combination. The Imperial CorifeFerice'is fo be asked to consider ; a Statfo: scheme of purchase in bulk Empire goods imported into England, which'is ariotfier application of rationalisation ; a*nd with ibis' Is naturally linked the'question of preference. Thus very important developments in marketing are possible. For the rest we may note Mr Goodfellow’s inclusion of the scarcity of gold among the reasons for the fall of prices and his remarks about competition from other countries. This will come mainly, in the immediate future, from Denmark and the Baltic States; Denmark’s exports of dairy produce to Britain last year were 100,000 tons, against our 65,000. New Zealand, says Mr Goodfellow, will hnve to fight to retain and extend her market in Britain but lie is sure of the ultimate result; for the reason that New Zea r land can produce at a lower cost. It will not do, however, to take this for granted. Every effort must be made to increase production, improve quality, arid reduce costs.