The Daily News. SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1905. DISTRIUBUTION OF PRODUCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7833, 27 May 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1905. DISTRIUBUTION OF PRODUCE.

Tho lack of proper accommodatior having for its object the distribute of New Zealand produce in a rogu lar and systematic manner severely handicaps this colony in its compcti tion with other countries. It ha: not been for want of advocacy or the part l of the press that a remedj or this unsatisfactory state of af fairs has not been found and adopt* ed long since. Meanwhile the an. nual loss to producers has been considerable.. Mostly, when, the pocket is affected, men set their wits to .work to protect their interests, yel our dairy farmer's, who now havt jgooH cause for rejoicing over tho in. stitution of co-operative dairy l'ao tories and freezing works, seem to bavo reached tho length of their organising capacity, while other countries, such as Denmark and thi Argentine, aro reaping the benefit ol a well ordered system of distribution of their produce. So far as* the dairying indusUy is concerned the mere production of butter and cheese is for tho settlers such' ail easy ntoV ier that they do not apparently trou ■ bie themselves over Iho question ol distribution. They milk the cows and take the yield to the factory or creamery, receiving as much value in money as the milk is worth. The expert factory manager takes ail further caro and responsibility, and the finished article mostly finds its way to the London market, where it if at the mercy of the middlemen, whose business it is to lake as large a toll as possible. Sometimes the middlemen buy the output of certain factories for the season, and occasionally the produce is consigned direct to the seller. There are even cases where the grader's verdict is no criterion of) value, although as a rule the grading is reliable, and the system has in a great improvement in the output. At all events, everything is done here to [place our produce on the market in good condition, but there the imiUcr is brought to an abrupt conclusion, so far as the producers aro concerned. Just at the point where skilful

rganismion is required to ensure the l)0»t return for the capital and

nbonr expended in the actual production of a valuable article ,>f commerce, there is a discreditable void, while wiser competitors, by the exercise of every care fti their arrangements for the disposal of their produce, place' themselves in the very best position' both as to Controlling l the supply, and, as a natural sequence, the price. Thus they can wrest from us the pride of place which the superiority of our produce Jias properly won. Nothing but 1 the supineness of those engaged in Iho dairying industry i 3 responsible for this culpa bit- negligence, which robs them of the full fruit of their enterprise and labour. It is admitted by xperts that \ew Zealand dairy produce is quite as- good a» the best Danish, yet the Danes continue to secure a; better price for their butter ; consequently this colony loses a large sum annually. Taking the export of butter from New Zealalvd last year as 35(},000fcwt, and the <diH fccenco in price in favour of tho Danish article as 4s per cwt, there is for that year alone a loss to th« colony or £70,000. Surely this is a large enough sum to be worth the flrouble of obtaining. It has been' frequently pointed out that the Danes Wrk on a system of direct control over tte output during the whole year, sv> as to secure regularity of supply, thug preventing a glut ou the , iu»rket, while ety produce is ilvuujjedl

down as fast as possible for about | 25 weeks, in the year, and, natural- it! ly, the price Hiifl'ei's. Hi cause wo ,1) have become accustomed to this j® state of thiims. that is no reason |j why s.icii an unsatisfactory cour.-'l j should Im- comi!,iurd merely for v,a'.i* 't of tli;t >ystem of organisation whi> h 1 is tl crux of business success. No i' s con . e cial house would expect to' floi i , by dumping itsggodso o ds down ' on a distant market and trusting to | chante for profitable sales. The wholo I lof our produce export trade requires 1 Ito be placed on a sound footing, but the question is by whom this reform | lis to bo carried out. It is estiniat- j led that in butter and frozen ine-it | the colony is losing something like a iliillion and a half a year by failing to sell to the best anvantngc. As compared with this large sum the expenses of organisation would be a mere bagatelle. There may be an idea that thy Government should take this matter in hand, but although they might lend all reasonable assistance to the object, it\ is ne that must lie undertaken by competent commercial men, appoint--1 jed for that purpose by the producers. 'Therearc really no difficulties in !+h« wav. once the movement •is

started. A conference of the loading, men engaged in the meat and dairying industries should be able to formulate a sound workable scheme which would be the means of effecting immense savings, and, What is of far greater importance, secure for this colony not only the respect of our competitors for the business ability of our producers, but also the en-( richment of those sellers who are now struggling under many disadvantages. We should gladly welcome the news that the much needed organisation has been started.

ON THE FOURTH PAGE. Commercial. Divino Services,