BRITISH MARKETS.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20263, 4 August 1937, Page 6

BRITISH MARKETS.

Those responsible for the marketing of Dominion products will give careful attention to the views of the Prime Minister regarding the wider distribution of foodstuffs at Homo. Mr Savage thinks that the markets would be better served by regular shipments to a greater number of ports, but a great deal will depend on the organisations built up for distribution purposes. Competition is so keen that it can be taken for granted that those engaged in the trade will have examined all means available for effecting more economic means of distribution, and the steady growth of business ''with West of England ports illustrates their willingness to extend operations wherever markets justify that action. Dairy produce requires cold .storage, in the same way as does meat, and the latest returns show that in the first eight months of the past production year ships carrying New Zealand meat called at nine British ports. Shipments to Hull and Newcastle-on-Tyne were net large, together not making one large boat’s carrying capacity, but the fact that some New Zealand produce was delivered there shows that the duty of serving the large markets in that part of the Mother Country had not been overlooked.

Then Mr Savage is anxious that more should be done to push the sale of New Zealand foodstuffs at* Home. The advertising campaigns carried out by the Meat and Dairy Boards together have been of undoubted value, and the report of the Meat Board, to be submitted to the annual meeting of delegates this month, shows that it has been particularly active. Last year it spent over £25,000 in publicity and it maintains a travelling representative at Home. But there are many avenues still to be explored, and apparently the Prime Minister holds that lectures, illustrated by moving pictures of the industries here, might prove of value in creating a demand for New Zealand produce. If the work were entrusted to men with a knowledge of the Dominion’s farms and factories, capable speakers, with the ability to capture the attention of the young people probably the demand would be stimulated. The chief selling point is the quality of the foodstuffs marketed, and in this respect Mr Savage was able to report that the Dominion had won a recognised place in British markets. Quality is the most important factor, and if unfailing attention is given to it, from the farm, through the factory to the markets, the Dominion should be able to compete favourably with any country. It is by means of quality that markets are won and held.