The Honey Industry

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 28, 27 October 1932, Page 11

The Honey Industry

Sir, —Would you grant me space to appeal to those interested to take, or to insist on, some action to end the present impasse in the honey industry? The position as it now stands is that honey is of practically no commercial value. I have no hesitation in saying this position £«¥■ developed as the natural result of the policy of the Honey Control Board, for the export market has progressively diminished as the board’s policy has been more completely enforced. By exercising their arbitrary powers, the board has made it compulsory to export all honey through the Ngw Zealand Co-operative Honey Producers’ Association, and this company is now in liquidation and consequently our only lawful outlet functionless. Surely then we have a right to ask that these fantastic and mischievous embargoes on our honey trade should be abrotated. The regulations relating to the grading of honev which were in force years before the advent of the Honey Control Board were quite adequate to give the industry reasonable protection, and should, of course, be maintained and could be amended from time to time if warranted. . . . We have a market in Great Britain that would absorb our surplus, and there are sound and practicable channels of exploiting that market if the monopolistic restrictions that directors of the late company have arrogated to themselves are cancelled. The methods adopted in the past of disposing of the honey have in my opinion been quite inconsistent with the best principles of salesmanship. Instead of soliciting the good-will and co-opera-tion of as many potential buyers as possible, the policy has been to restrict the agency to one firm and to impose unwieldy conditions. . . .1 earnestly appeal to beekeepers to take action and have this costly and useless institution disbanded. Then we can. ship our honey through our own agents and if they prove unsatisfactory we know who to blame. — I am. etc., Hi GEDDES. Rotorua.