THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1922 SUPPLIERS AND PRICES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4375, 8 February 1922, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1922 SUPPLIERS AND PRICES.

o ■ Dairyfarmers • are not taking the present slump very philosophically. Abnormal conditions forced the price of butter-fat up so high that the producer was able to get 2s 6d per lb, but inevitably the pendulum swung back again in the natural course of things economic, and now that 2s 6d is divided by three. In the near future the pendulum may be expected to recover from its unusually violent oscillations, and to move in a less extended arc. In other words, prices may rise somewhat in the near future, but not to anything like the previous war figures. Butter prices will stabilise when they become adapted to the purchasing power of Great Britain’s millions of people. For a good article a good price will be paid, but any at-| tempt to secure figures that the general economic position does not warrant will mean an increase of consumption of Danish and other butter, and also of high-grade margarine. It may bo as well to repeat and emphasise the statement that only the best quality of . butter will reach the top price on the market; this month the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., will pay out 9d per lb for superfine, B|d for firstgrade, and 6|d for seqond-grade, which. figures, low though they be, prove conclusively that the demand is for the best quality. But this reference to quality is somewhat of a digression; the main theme is the attitude of suppliers to the situation and to those whom they have entrusted with the management of the business.

Judging by remarks made by some of the- suppliers, it would appear as though they thought the directors were so many nonSuppliers and members of a proprietary concern apart from the suppliers altogether. The rank and file do not seem to give a thought to the fact that all the directors are large suppliers, with from two to five sheds each. It follows that if the ordinary supplier fares ill, the directors, who are among the largest, are faring worse still. It should be perfectly obvious that the directors, if for no other motive than self-interest, are bound to do their utmost to secure the best possible prices for the suppliers in general. A director-supplier paying sharemilkers 6d per lb

butter-fat and getting only 3d out of it himself for interest on his money and a score of expenses of various sorts is certain to be mighty -anxious to see a higher pay-out. It is no fault of the directors, nor is it to thier liking as heavy suppliers, that a .maximum of 9d only can be paid out again this month. The reason why no further advance can be made is that from Is 6d to 2s per lb was paid out on five shipments early in the season, but for which only 10|d to Is per lb was received from the agents in London, owing to, the drop in the market which subsequently occurred. Incidentally, the weak attitude of Australia in offering butter at Is 3d had a very adverse effect bn the New Zealand product. And furthermore, the Government overdue subsidy is not yet forthcoming, and will probably be delayed until March. There is,* however, a distinct improvement in the otulook. Mr Wm. Goodfellow, managing director of the N.Z. Co-operative Daily Co., Ltd., has made arrangements with a gentleman of the highest standing at Home to look after the selling interests of the Company; this gentleman is, probably above all others, thoroughly acquainted by past experience in an exalted executive capacity with all the ways of the market and with the business magnates who are mainly concerned with the wholesale and retail sales of butter and cheese in the United Kingdom. Prior to Mr Goodfellow's departure, the that the action of the directorate that the atcion of the directorate in sending their managing director to the United Kingdom to organise the advertising, selling, distribution, and prevention from adulteration of the Company’s butter was one of the wisest decisions the board of directors ever made/ We hold more firmly than ever to that view, and would go so far as to state that the producers would have been even worse off than they are at the present moment had this important step not been taken. Time will tell whether or not our judgment is correct. Mr Goodfellow is now on the way back to New Zealand, and he will visit Australia en voyage,, for the purpose of interviewing some of the larger Australian companies, comparing policies, methods of production, etc. It cannot be long now before ? the prices of the commodities the farmer purchases must come level with the cost of the things the producer sells; the dailyfarmers have but to keep a stiff upper lip, keep battling on, and the economic position will right itself in due course. The main thing to bear in mind at present is that the situation must be faced and fought through, and that any further attempt to interfere with the immutable laws of supply and demand will result, as it has always done, in ultimate failure. The future looks promising enough ; there is little real justification for pessimism in regard to the years ahead; on the contrary, there are solid grounds for optimism.