DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 August 1922, Page 5

DAIRY INDUSTRY.

DISCUSSION IN HOUSE. QUESTION OF LONDON REPORTS. Marketing conditions. (By Wire—Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night. A discussion regarding market reports and other aspects of the dairy industry arose in the House to-day, when the Minister for Agriculture presented some papers relating to the butter contracts with the Imperial Government. Members of the House urged that improved market reports were required, and made some references to the suggested butter pool. Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Gisborne) said that the information that reached the farmers through the High Commissioner’s office was not good enough. The Dominion ought to have a trade commissioner in Britain, working quite apart from the High Commissioner. A similar trade commissioner should (be appointed in the United States, in order that New Zealand producers should be assisted to develop the American market. MARKET MANIPULATED. Mr. W. H. Field (Otaki) agreed that the London market was not being watched as it should be on behalf of New Zealand butter producers and the reports were not adequate. The trouble was accentuated by the fact that shipments of butter from New Zealand were controlled very largely by one man, who lived in Sydney. The Prime Minister would know who was meant. « Mr. Massey: I think his name is not unknown in New Zealand. Mr. Field stated that shipments reached London in such, a fashion that the market,was alternately short and glutted, prices were made to fluctuate violently, and the people who were “in the know” made large profits. That was a state of affairs that should not be tolerated.

Mr. F. Hockly (Rotorua) said there were too many fluctuations in the London butter market. The normal movement of the market did not account for these fluctuations, and he was forced to the conclusion that there were people trying-to profit by “bulling and bearing the market.” The remedy, he thought, was quite obvious. The Government should take into very serious consideration the question of instituting a butter pool and, if necessary, making it compulsory. The present system permitted speculators to injure the industry. THE OVER-RUN. Another matter that required attention, said Mr. Hockly, was the competition between the proprietary companies and the co-operative companies. There was a strong demand for the co-opera-tive companies that some provision should be made by legislation during the present year to compel each company to publish its over-run. If that could be done it would eliminate a particularly unfair form of competition and, at the. same time, would protect the suppliers of the proprietary companies, The law stated that not more than 16 per cent of water was to be put into butter, and if the full quantity were •put in. the maximum over-run that a company should '-be able to show was 20.6 per cent, but he was informed that some of the companies were making an over-run of as much as 26 per cent. That over-run was not being provided legitimately, and someone was paying. Something was being done that was outside the law to secure such an over-run, and the men who suffered were the suppliers to the private companies. Indeed, the whole industry suffered. There certainly should be a provision for the publication of the over-runs and for the auditing of the companies* accounts, if necessary. TOOLEY STREET CONTROL. Mr. A. D. McLeod (Wairdrapa) sunported the proposed butter pool. He was convinced that unless the producers got together they were going to cut a very poor figure in the future of their trade. The wool producers had made extraordinary strides in the improvement of the product per sheep. The average dip had been raised from, under 6lb to something like 9 lb. The dairy producers had not made a corresponding advance in the production per cow. The Prime Ministex* said he had been informed, and he believed it to be true, that the London market for dairy produce was controlled by a small committee of Tooley Street merchants, which fixed prices daily. He was not prepared at the moment to suggest a remedy, but until the Tooley Street people had some competition against them not much could be done in the way of steadying the market. It might be a •good thing if New Zealand sent its dairy produce to other centres as well as to London. NATIONAL CO-OPERATION NEEDED. The Minister for Agriculture (the Hon. W. Nosworthy), after further debate, said he doubted if a Government officer appointed to report on market movements would secure better results than •the present London representatives of the New Zealand dairying interests. The dairy farmers, if they wished, could establish an organisation similar to the Meat Producers’ Board. He believed that some form of national co-operation would become necessary for the marketing of butter and cheese. The Minister, referring to the sugaestion made by Mr. Field, said he would try to ascertain what was going on under ground and above ground. He believed it would soon be time to consider whether stock condemned for any cause should not have a mark of some kind.