PRODUCER HAS NEED OF MIDDLEMAN

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 157, 21 March 1923, Page 9

PRODUCER HAS NEED OF MIDDLEMAN

CANNOT MARKET HIS GOODS INDEPENDENTLY MR. J. B. MACEWAN’S OPINION To a representative of The Dominion yesterday Mr. J. B. Mac Ewan, the head of the well-known firm bearing his name, chatted interestingly on matters of importance to the community at large, and to fanners in particular. Mr. Mao Ewan left New Zealand! in'April last on a business trip to England, going Homo by way of Canada, and extending his tour to the Continent, mainly for the purpose of studying the dairying and marketing methods of Denmark and Fraiice at close quarters. Ho was fortunate in having facilities for obtaining information offered to him everywhere, almost pressed upon him indeed, and he found the hospitality of the cities and districts he had visited before in no way impaired by the passage of the years. On the contrary, his welcome as a Now Zealander seemed more cordial than ever, Continental countries as well as the Home' country, retaining, appreciative recollections of the part the Dominion had bernp. in the groat war. The chief purpose of Mr. MacEwan’s trip was to look after the business of his own firm, aftd he did not wish to pose as a final authority on any of the subjects brought under his notice. But thanks to the ready courtesy of the business men he met during his travels, he obtained a large amount of information concerning matters of very special consequence to New Zealand producers at the present time. One of these—perhaps the one most frequently discussed —was the question of marketing their produce. His own interests lay particularly in the marketing of butter and cheese, but as a matter of fact the marketing of other produce was in much the same case. The people interested in 'the matter —apart from tho consum? ers, who, of course, alwavs were interestedr—were, Mr. MtteEwan said, the producers and the merchants in New Zealand, and the importers, wholesalers and retailers in Britain. The interests of those people were not conflicting, under any proper commercial practice, but they were so intimately interwoven that an idea had grown up among some of the producers that it would be a simple matter for them, by an extension of the system of co-operation, to dispense, with the intermodilarieS and save for (theimselves all the profits made by the merchants here and the importers, [wholesalers, and retailers at Home. Business Man Necessary. “This sort of talk has been going on ever since the primitive methods of barter proved inadequate for the needs of dommcrco,” continued Mr. MacEwan, “But the methods of production and distribution have become more intricate decade by decade, till at the present time it would bo simply impossible for the producer to span the whole gap that lies between him and the consumer at the other end of the world. First of all there is the Question of finance. Farmers all over the Dominion are complaining that the banks are unwilling to provide fhem with all the money they need. This is a perennial grievance. But the merchants and stock agents make it their business to see their c.rents through their troubles, sometimes standing by them year after year, and often taking risks which the banks by the very nature of their charters and their business, would not be justified in undertaking. Here is one great service which the farmers cannot do for themselves, and which they cannot obtain from the banks. Then there are all the details in connection with Tailing, storing, insuring, shipping, and so forth, meeting skilled attention, which the farmer, even if he had the necessary knowledge and experience, cod'd not givq without neglecting the practical part of his business. Th® business man in some form or another, obviously, is just as necessary to the producer as- are th© manual workers who help him through with lias home operations.” The position at Home. As for the marketing at the other end, Mr. Mac Ewan went on to say, ho had no doubt it was the best that could be devised in existing circumstances. Tho importers, th« wholesalers, and the retailers had long-es-tablished connections and tho command of unlimited capital. Experience and the stress of competition had equipped them at every point for their job It had been suggested that the wholesalers might bo cut out, but this had bepn found impracticable, and were it practicable it still would be inadvisable on many grounds. The importers could not undertake the daily distribution of hundreds of small lots oE meat or. butter or any other produce. If they could, no advantage would accrue to tho producers, since the-wholesalers’ costs and charges still would ave to bo paid to the row people that did the work. Even the > short-cut from the Now Zealand producer to tho English consumer had been proposed. But with this arrangement all the operations now necessary still would be necessary, and in all probability would cost at least as much in money as thev cost- at the present time, to say nothing of the inevitable loss which' would follow upon the severance of old Connections and tho conversion of friendly importers, wholesalers, and retailers into • powerful rivals, thoroughly acquainted with tho business and already in possession of the field. Whait, then, would be the advantage of the change An Imperial Conference.

“I have seen the system in actual opeyatiop, and -have followed it in every detail,” ]\lr. Mac Ewan reiterated before turning to other subjects. “I have tried to be unbiased, to place myself in the position of tho producers and determine whether I would leave my business in the hands of experienced men, fully acquainted with the intricacies of tho Home markets, or enter upon some other arrangement in which I should have no assurance that tho service would bo equally efficient or the results sp good. I have taken all the factors into account, and I have had no difficulty in deciding. Wo have to remember that tho competition for tho London all markets with any considerable power of absorption—is going to be increasingly keen. As Europe -makes its wa.y back to normal conditions, and so increases its manufacturing activities’ and its purchasing ability, every producing country in the world will turning its eyes that way. With this ’prospect, in view, even now. in fact, developing, it seems to me that tho sensible thing would be for tho representatives of every interest concerned in tho business—producers, merchants, importers, wholesalers, re-tailors-—to get together to discuss the whole position and to doviso tho best possible means of insuring success in the coming struggle for markets. Such c conference, of course, would have to fcikc place in London, where, the regresentatives from this country could o sure of the hearty co-operation of tho big men in tho heart of the Em-

pire in placing the marketing of tho Dominion’s protlucite upon a sound basis. This would bo an effort worthy of the great issues at stake.”