Dairy market diversification

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33264, 29 June 1973, Page 8

Dairy market diversification

About two-thirds of the dairy products exported now went to markets outside the United Kingdom, the chairman of the Dairy Board (Mr F. L. Onion) said yesterday. Addressing the Dominion dairy conference, he said thatin the year ended last March, 5” per cent of the industry’s exchange earnings had come from markets outside Britain. "This is not to say that we are becoming independent of the British market.” he said. "Everyone knows that market is the only outlet avail-[ able in the short term for a large part of the fat portion of our milk. It would take many years of sustained and costly effort to establishtrades elsewhere for these ouantities. and that may, in fact, never be necessary. "Nevertheless, our sales of hutter and the butter equiva--lent of anhydrous milkfat to markets other than Britain

rose to 56,000 tons in 1972-i 73.” Mr Onion told the confer-1 ence that sales of cheese to [ markets outside the United Kingdom had increased byj 6000 tons, most of the growth having taken place in: the Caribbean, South Africa, i Japan, and the United States.: Many of the outlets for skim-milk powders were recombining plants and Government agencies in countries surrounding the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

I “Our milk products are becoming critical to the operation of recombining industries and the distribution of food in developing countries,: and they impose obligations Jon us which must be taken: (very seriously. “We have developed these 'trades through the logic of our being the dependable, unsubsidised supplier. As our competitors come and go, more and more people become dependent on us for their livelihood and for their food. “This imposes on us certain responsibilities in maintaining stocks, and it confronts us with important decisions in which price is not always the only consideration,” Mr Onion said. : The range of the board’s: :activities and the pace of: change were such that the! 'board's staff, shipping, pro-' duct development, and manu-l [facturing resources in New I 'Zealand were all under some: [strain. “We now have offices ini

London, Singapore, and Tokyo. We have companies in ■ the United States and Europe ' and associated companies and , agencies throughout the rest oof the trading world. :i “We have a new marketing: organisation in Latin America . — where our sales are now ■ running at a rate of well over $5O million a year, and are • still growing fast,” he said.