HIGH REPUTATION

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20262, 3 August 1937, Page 2

HIGH REPUTATION

NEW ZEALAND GOODS. MARKETING IN BRITAIN. MR SAVAGE’S IMPRESSIONS. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Monday. The high reputation enjoyed by New Zealand produce on the British market was emphasised by the Prime Minister, Mr Savage, in an interview to-night. “New Zealand has no reason to apologise to anyone for the quality of its produce,” he said. "The farmers are entitled to some praise for that happy state of affairs.” Asked if he had had an opportunity during his visit to the Old Country of seeing something of the marketing of NevV Zealand produce, Mr Savage said that he had visited Smithfleld to see how meat was handled, and the Minister of Marketing, the Hon. W. Nash, had been in toiiich with Tooley Street. However, Mr Savage had met some Tooley Street people, and the general Impression he gathered from them, and from other sources in London, was that New Zealand was gaining ground by reason of its marketing methods. Those responsible for the marketing of Dominion produce appeared to be making a huge success of the job. Regular Shipments. It appeared to Mr Savage that there was scope for the wider distribution of New Zealand produce on the markets of the United Kingdom, by regular shipments to a greater number of ports than at present. The bulk of New Zealand’s produce seemed to go through London. That was not very satisfactory from the point of view of the provinces. For that reason he had paid a visit to Hull, where he met representatives of the trading and commercial community. These people pointed out that a city like Bradford, which was a comparatively short way inland from Hull, had to obtain its supplies of New Zealand produce through London. Their argument was that they should be able to draw their supplies from shipments to JHfull. Incidentally, the people he met at Hull classified New Zealand butter as the best on the British market. He realised that a certain amount had been done by shipments to such places as Liverpool and Newcastle, but there appeared to be a desire for regular and direct .shipments to other parts of England also. More Advertising. The Prime Minister was also convinced that more had to be done to advertise New Zealand produce than had been in the past. By advertising he did not mean putting up a poster. He meant having someone on the job who knew New Zealand conditions, and how the Dominion’s products were produced, one who was familiar with the various stages through which the produce passed, from the raw material on the farms to the distribution of the finished commodity to the British consumer. If the authorities were able to do anything by way of films or lectures, or by both, then It was their bounden duty to do