MARKETING OF HONEY

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22338, 28 February 1938, Page 7

MARKETING OF HONEY

"OUTLOOK ANYTHING BUT BRIGHT"

BEEKEEPERS* CRITICISM OF STATE CONTROL

"The outlook for honey producers is anything but bright," said Mr Y. H. Benton, president of the Dominion Beekeepers' Association, in a statement to "The Press" on a recent announcement by the Hon. W. Nash, Minister for Marketing, on State control tf honey marketing. Mr Benton said producers in general and most of those whc» abated tor State control would feel Mle ""? t dence in the Minister's announcement of a maximum pro rata advance_ pay ment of 4£d a pound, and a former uncertain amount in final Pfymoat when they knew that only a limited numberwould reap the highest figures Presumably the Minister had in mind a scheme for the equalisation (rf pnce returns on honey sold locally and that exported by the Marketing Division but it was difficult to see how the Export Control Board could fit into sucn 3 the decision of his department to take control over honey. Mr Nash states that there has been a , strong agitation on the part of beekeepers throughout the Dominion during the last few months, urging the Government to provide some form ot assistance for the marketing of their product, both in New Zealand and overseas," Mr Benton continued. He fails however, to mention that when this agitation became known to producers as a whole, equally strong protests were made by a large number, represented by the Dominion Beekeepers' Association and others, against any intention of the Government to apply State-controlled marketing measures to the industry. "Dissatisfaction of Shareholders" "Mr Nash informed the deputation from the Dominion Beekeepers' Association, which waited on him on January 21, that he had been requested by the whole of the shareholders of New Zealand Honey, Ltd., to bring the-honey industry- under the scope of thelnter-

nal Marketing Division. This statement cannot be reconciled with tee fact that a very large number of the shareholders of this company, owing to dissatisfaction with price returns obtained through their company, had sold their entire crop of honey, outside the sphere of their companies' activities, and associated themselves with the Dominion Beekeepers' Association, in opposing State control. "Under the pro rata advance schedule, an advance of 4Jd per lb will be received only by those producers whose honey grades the maximum number of points. As the number of points graded recedes from the maximum, so the advance decreases in proportion, and on average quality honey the advance will be approximately 3d per lb. "Under the seeming costliness *»f State marketing, and definite costliness of centralised packing and distribution, it is doubtful whether the final payment will exceed Id to 14d per lb. bringing the total payment on average honey up to a mere 4£d. Higher costs of production, containers, freight, and grading charges, will leave the producer with less than 2d per lb profit on average quality honey. How can this absurdly uneconomic figure establish the measure of security and confidence throughout the industry which the beekeepers require to make a suc- ' cess of their operation as producers of a necessary foodstuff? "According to the figures available in the Year Book the average yield from each colony is computed at 451b a year. From this it will seem that a producer of average quality honey netting a profit of only 2d per lb would need 600 colonies of bees to return him the computed economic income of £4 a week. Actually there are not more than 100 beekeepers in New Zealand who own that number of colonies ox more."