MILK SUPPLIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 192, 16 August 1938, Page 8

MILK SUPPLIES.

THE COST OF SERVICE.

adequate supplies of milk at all eeaeons to a large city k. k matter of great complexity (writes Mr; Ben levies, of United Dairies, Ltd;, London, in : -the "Australian Milk Journal"). The production of milk is riot to be:expanded overnight to meet extra requirements. Extremes of temperature increase the demand enormously, but, almost in inverse ratio, at the same time nature restricts the supply. The flush of production ie in spring, the flush demand ie in midsummer or winter. Therefore the loweet valley, of supply must overtop the highest crest of demand. That there shall always be enough, there must at times be a great deal too much, and this eurplus has to be converted into various manufactures, involving great sums of capital and no email enterpriee.

I Again, to appreciate the problem, let it be remembered that the distributor sells not merely milk, but milk phis service. And a jdegree of service which costs even more than the milk itself. It means milk delivery at awkward and inconvenient hours. It means ah auxiliary system of local stores where extra supplies may be easily procured at any time. It. means a credit department where myriads of email accounts are recorded and the payments of-which are made at intervale largely dictated by the consumer. It means the maintenance of laboratories and workshops, of experts and supervisors, to an extent unparalleled in any other food service.

Costly Service.

And all this service, together with much more than line not yet been detailed, hae to be performed at a price which is enormously less than the charge for mere transport of an individual parcel of corresponding weight by the Post Office, or by an express or railway company. Assume that the average letter weighs one-fourth of an ounce, and the postage is twopence per letter, then the Post Office receives approximately ten shillings per pound weight of lettere transported.

It ie forgetfulness of thie element of costly service which accounts for much of the criticism as to the extent of the difference between the price paid by the consumer and that received by the producer. Considered by itself, milk is sold as cheaply as ever. The evergrowing need and demand for more and new forme of service ■ accounts for increased prices and coete. The prospect is that the demand for service will increase rather than diminish. One of the distributor's great problems k how to meet all such legitimate demands, how to give more and better service, and yet restrict his selling price.