"Sobering Thoughts ” On Dairy Sales

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29871, 11 July 1962, Page 15

"Sobering Thoughts ” On Dairy Sales

Two sobering thoughts ; faced the dairy industry in; its marketing today—mount-; ; ig nroduction and surpluses in Europe and the United States, and the attitude the industry should take with the Government over the Common Market, said Mr P B Marshall, general manager of the Dairy Production and Marketing Board in Christchurch last evening. Mr Marshall was addressing the Canterbury branch of ! the Economic Society of Australia and New Zealand On the Common Market problem. Mr Marshall said that the industry had to d cide whether to continue tn withdraw from the United Kingdom market to the extent that availability of o’her markets permitted—or, whether to rest on such trade: ■'rights" as it could talk the British into when arguing! New Zealand's case with the! Six and so ‘‘hold the fort"; in Britain. ' "If we d.d that, and if we won the case, that could have a very dramatic effect in regard to the procurement of other markets,” Mr Mar-; shall said “That is the only; comment I shall make on the EEC. Effect Of Surpluses What was going to happen, when the vast and mounting; - “ p’vses of da'ry | in other countries “hit” New J Zealand? asked Mr Marshall j They had already given New; Zealand two shocks in the; last few years "Are we going to suffer, more tn the future, or work] out something in terms of. -•e’-rational disposal?” he asked The enormous agricultural rvpansion on the Continent from the replenishment of t'-c herds destroyed in World War 11. and in the United; States from technological advances 'in spite of reduct-; ion in farm units! made I New Zealand wonder where' was going to fit in. said Mr; Marshall "Do not let us delude our-; selves it is going to he; solved by some grandiose scheme of international cooperation." he said On the Dairy Board’s police towards private enter-p-ise selling agents. Mr Marshall said it did not believ= “ a multiplicity of agents in one market. That mean' a lot of trouble and low sales or a lot of sales at lew prices be said This was because "he agents were competing among themselves for the; available business. But there were still areas; in the world where people I could get new sales on behalf of *he board. Mr Mar-; shall said "It would be :n-| Wresting to see somebody i ving a shot at selling: cieese to the Russians." he. s.. d. “If anybody walked! “'to our office and asked forj such an agenev. he would ge'; provided he did a good l job” A questioner asked whether it was not the board’s re-: sponsibility. rather than leaving it to agents’ “It is open to anybody to have a go at Russia.” said Mr Marshall. “If they want to know how to have a go. bv all means come to us. But no-one has ever walked into my office in five years about g ;ing into a new market." Asian Opportunities There were other oppor-; ‘ mities for new business in the Asian countries, with 703 to 1000 million people, said Mr Marshall. The Dairy Board had already proved, this could be done. Business, in Ceylon had been increased;

303 per cent, this year—and this was not one of New Zealand's traditional markets. he said. New Zealand had “stolen in” at the expense of Australia. Giving another example of the board’s enterprise. Mr Marshall said it had spotted a “free item" in the United States tariff which had enabled the development of a substantial market for colby cheese—about 7000 tons a year. However. a few months ago. New Zealand had been compelled to accept so-called “voluntary" quotas resulting in the cheese sa-les being halved. Referring to butterfat, milk powder, and casein. Mr Marshall said that butterfat would be “a curse round our necks” for many years to come, but milk powder would be a shortage commodity within measurable time, even though the world’s production was four million tons a year. “Notwithstanding surpluses in the United States and Canada, and in the United Kingdom, we are ra : sing our price of powder." Mr Marshall said. “All the signs are against it—but the Americans are slowly raising their price It only needs a £5 5s rise a ton to get a Id per lb rise in butterfat." Mr Marshall termed this activity of the board “marketing manipulations.”