EXPORTING EGGS.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14758, 30 August 1913, Page 5

EXPORTING EGGS.

THE VANCOUVER TRADE,

PROGRESS OF THE INDUSTRY.

• Tho statement recently mado by the management of tho Union Steam Ship Company in Wellington that, so far, tho company had not received many definite enquiries for space for tho shipment of eggs to Vancouver, under the arrangement made with tho Department of Agriculture was brought under the notice of Mr J. B. Merrett, one of the principal men in the poultry industry in Christohurch.' ."We have got a good deal further than that statement would lead an outsider to think," said Mr.Merrett to a "Press" representative. "The difficulty we havo boon faced with until recently in enlarging the export trade was tho fact that the smallest space, one chamber, which we could get on the Gteamships was 800 cubic feet, and it takes no less than 270 cases of e#gs, holding 30 dozen eggs each, to fill it. This amount was not available from Christchuich alone, and we have had to co-operate with other centres to get tho quantity required. Now, arrangements have been made for the shipment of 300 cases of eggs; 150 will be supplied from Christchurch, 75 from Duncdin, and 75 from Wellington, and a consignment of this size will allow us to ship under the most favourable conditions, though each consignor will make his own arrangements for marketing at Vancouver. A comparatively large shipment such as this, consisting as it does of 108,000 eggs, will allow a far better opportunity of testing tho Vancouver market than the trial shipment of about 200 dozen eggs that was sent before, as a feeler. There was a profit even on that small shipment, when tho cost of shipping was comparatively high, and 1 anticipate that very much better results will be gained from this season's consignment, because it will be sent at a cheaper rate. "In January last," said Mr Merrett, "a well-known Vancouver merchant was in Christchurch, and after making, all enquiries into tho poultry industry here, ho said he felt convinced that there were great possibilities in the trade- with Vancouver, not only in eggs, but in dressed poultry as well. In my opinion, there is no danger, for 20 years to come, of the Vancouver market being glutted or spoilt, because poultry raising is not practicable on a largo scale there, one reason being that fowl feed is so expensive."

THE EGG SUPPLY-,

Judging from the remarks made by Mr Merrett tho- initiation of the egg export trade was due, to a certain extent, to the "bearing" of the market by tho largest lusers of oggs, the pastrycooks and confectioners. An understanding was apparently arrived at whereby a certain price should not bo exceeded, and thus price wae so low that it was a great discouragement to tho poultrymen. For a long time pastrycooks and confectioners were content to get all kinds of eggs, and paid 8d or yd a dozen, but lately one at least, had come to the conclusion that' it was worth while paying a little more per dozen, and getting a graded and guaranteed article, and this man had placed an order at lid a dozen and was well satisfied with the result. Not only did ho get larger and cleaner eggs, which were really fresh, but ho found that the quality of the goods he rnado was much higher, and naturally much appreciated by the public. If all the large users of eggs had consented to pay a fair price for a. really good article, it would have "been an enormous encouragement to the poultrymen, and it was quite possible that tliey would not have looked so much to the export trade to heip them out. Another way in which both tho poultrymen and* the public could bo benefited would be by putting large quantities of eggs into cold storage during the season in which veerv plentiful. Such a procedure had been carried out in America and the benefit to confnmcrs hr.d boon marked. It was calculated that instead of eggs being 10d to 1? a dozen in the summer and 2s to 2s 6d a dozen in the winter, they could he sold to tho public at about Is all tho -year round or possibly less, because nov.-'the poultrymen had to rely to a <_;!:\Tt extent on th<? high winter price of cgs;s for the profits. If the pastrycooks' and confectioners persisted in ihoir determination to kcr>p the price of eggs down they would indirectly fostor either tho- export trade or the cold storage proposition.