NEW ZEALAND BUTTER IN ENGLAND

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 72, 18 December 1928, Page 12

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER IN ENGLAND

Sir, —1 have read with considerable interest in me letter in to-day s issue ot air. J. E. Leeson, chairman ot me Mvrriusville Co-operative Dairy Company, regarding the question ot the landing ana uiarueting oi New Zealand butter in Great Britain in a iresn condition. Alay l say that i view Air. Leeson s letter as a most valuable contribution. It cannot be stressed too niueli bow imperative it is it you are going to penetrate markets at Hume, controlled by foreign interests, that New Zealand butter should be placed regularly before British housewives in an absolutely fresh condition. This question 1 have made one of the principal features of addresses aud interviews which I have given till over the Dominion during the past three months of my tour, in which 1 have endeavoured to pviut out to all concerned the value to them of markets at Home other than London, and the danger to the development of your trade in those markets through concentrating practically the whole of your marketing on one centre, namely, London, The only reference of Air. Leesons with which I do not agree is the third paragraph of his letter, where he suggests that there is no difficulty in purchasing New Zealand butter at Home. If he had inquired throughout the industrial Alidlands aud the North, and also throughout Scotland, where the demand for your butter is increasing, largely due to the wonderful help given by the Empire Marketing Board in urging our people to support your industries, he would have found that in nine cases out of ten it was practically impossible to buy New Zealand butter, and this is due almost entirely to the fact that those markets, notably Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool, are only benefiting spasmodically by direct shipment from New Zealand, whilst irregular supplies are being railed from London. To develop trade in any commodity, continuity ot supply and first-class condition are the two essentials. The reason why we cannot purchase your butter as much as we would like is due to the lack of regular supplies and also to the fact that New Zealand butter, when obtainable, is sometimes not as fresh as it might be, due to the endless handlings, delays and various temperatures to which it is subjected in attempting to supply our markets through London. No other country in the 1 orld with perishable food products for sale, with the exception of Australia, attempts to feed our large industrial areas through London, but instead they exploit our markets to the lull and take every care that their commodities are landed regularly direct to our markets and so ensure that no depieciation or deterioration in those commodities takes place. On the other hand, no country takes more care of the preparation and shipment of dairy produce than New Zealand. If only those interested will take half as much care an interest in the question of economic and direct marketing nt Home it will be seen, B it Ims been proved time and again, that immediately regular supplies of butin the best corn!it on are aynllnbe. your trade in our northern markets will verv rapidly double and treble. . Mr. Leeson inquires how to mere"*® the demand so that it will pay the retailer to exhibit and sell your butter as New Zealand butter and thus increase the demand generally.. He rightly suggests increased advertising, and undoubtedly this would be bound to have a marked effect, but all the advertising in the world will never build up a market, especially in face of Cont nentnl competition, until your Control ’ ££ porters, and importers at Home get, clo. er together and realise more fully the necessity of the best form of advertisement, namely, an attractive. commodity always before the eyes of British housewives. They are your customers, and it is to them 'you have to look for the vast development of the dairy industry, which I am convinced is bound to come, but you Will never arouse enthusiasm among our purchasing population at Home until they can be assured that they can buy New Zealand butter in shops as regularly and in the same fresh comb ion as they could purchase Danish. There is no reason whatever why the present unsatisfactory condition should be continued. The Dairy Control Board can do much by the arrangement of regular shipping* services to the IVest Coast ports, feeding the West Coast markets of Avonmouth, Liverpool, Alanchester, and Glasgow, eliminating London. It is these markets around which are located the great bulk of the huge population of Britain. Decentralisation from London has got to come if New Zealand products are going to be firmly established at Home. There is a great future for the New Zealand dairy industry, but more attention will have to be given to the marketing conditions at Home if competition is to be fought successfully and its products made permanently popular.

I am, etc., lIAROLD M KO RD Wellington, December 14.