DISPOSAL OF PRODUCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 August 1922, Page 3

DISPOSAL OF PRODUCE.

PRODUCERS’ MARKETING ASSOCIATION. CRITICISM BY SUPPLIERS. Considerable discussion took place at the 'annual meeting of the Mangorei Co-op. Dairy Company yesterday on the respective merits of selling their output on the English market through the Producers’ Marketing Association or through private firms. Last year the Mangorei Company sold through the* association and a number of the shareholders thought the action of the directors in so doing was unwise, while one or two thought they had gone beyond their province. The matter was opened when the chairman (Mr. A. Morton), in reply to a question, said that they had obtained prices through the association which were bettered by only one of the private firms, and by using the association they had come out as well as other companies. The matter had come before the directors of the National Dairy Association and a unanimous decision had been arrived at to support the proposal. All the factories were dissatisfied with the marketing conditions in England, and things were not as they should be. This scheme was an attempt on the part of the factories to get together with the idea of improving conditions. ASSOCIATION ATTACKED. Mr. Rowlands spoke at some length on the support given to the Producers’ Marketing Association by the National Dairy Association and the action of the directors in shipping their produce through it. He considered that shareholders should have had an opportunity of discussing the proposal first. It was scandalous, he said, that the company should have been made the catspa w of the district, and he called the Producers’ Marketing Association the National Dairy Association, nothing more or less. Here were men on the executive of the National Dairy Association who were also on that of the Marketing Association.

The chairman: That is not so. Mr. Rowlands named two gentlemen who served in the dual capacity, and went on to say that the board was not unanimous about it. When it was a question of the disposal of their produce last year only two buyers wanted it, and by a majority, it was decided to consign through the Marketing Association, or, as he called it, the National Dairy Association •, a very strong microscope would be required to discern the difference. The clerical work was done in the National Dairy Association office. He could produce figures to show that they had lost heavily through it. Mr. R. Burrows spoke on the conference at Palmerston North of the National Dairy Association, where the scheme had been discussed and approved. They had not been bound to support it and their directors had been given a free hand.

In reply to interjections, the chairman explained that they had not bought any shares in the association and they had no liability until application for shares was made. Continuing, Mr. Morton said it was the way the Tooley Street business was conducted that the factories were up against. There was no suggestion that any particular firm was dishonest, but they disliked the whole system. He would say that if they had had proper marketing conditions during the past season prices would have been up to 150 s instead of a drop down to 112 s. There was no intention on the part of the promoters of the Marketing Association to do away with any firm, but to use all of them, and distribute the produce according to the capacity of each. It was an attempt to bring about better conditions on the London market. The Dairy Association had cnee tried to collect money for an advertising campaign of their produce in the Old Country, but not more than 20 or 30 per cent, of the companies had agreed to contribute. Had each company contributed l£d on each box of butter they would have had about £30.000, and. spent on advertising, this money would have brought itself back ten times over.

“HALF-BAKED SCHEMES.” Mr. R. W. D. Robertson said he wished to speak not from the point of view of Tooley Street but as a supplier. It was not going to do any good to bring forward half-baked schemes for improving conditions. They should send a properly accredited delegation to England to investigate the market conditions. The Prime Minister had voiced his ignerance by saying 'that a committee met ’in Tooley Street every morning to fix the prices, but when challenged to mention names he would not do so. What Tooley Street wanted was that the New Zealand people should get to know something about the business before they started their schemes. Before the “pool” was proposed. Mr. Robertson continued. New Zealand butter occupied the premier position in England, but after the “pool” was mentioned it had dropped 50 per cent, in tbe estimation of the British retailer. The Government should appoint a commission to take evidence in New Zealand and England on the whole question of production and marketing of dairy produce. The Danes were becoming perturbed over New Zealand competition and they and Australia were pleased to see New Zealand trying schemes. As a supplier he was against experiments They listened to a London agent and if ho was plausible gave him their output without ascertaining whether he had already had as many outputs as he could handle. Tooley Street welcomed investigation. but did not want any halfbaked schemes.