THE EXPORT OF POULTRY.

Evening Post, Volume LXI, Issue 88, 16 April 1901, Page 4

THE EXPORT OF POULTRY.

The efforts of the Government to encourage the qxport of, poultry bid fair to be crowned with success. It is some years now since a Government Poultry Expert was appointed, and the results achieved so for, though not • great, are promising. As with ajl new industries, time -is necessary for experimenting and educating, but the preliminaries mny be now regarded as at* an end, and the actual work of exporting commenced. Fair consignments have already been sent \ to South Africa, and tho demand from that quarter is likely to continue. As soon as the people see that there is profi' in the business there will be considerable expansion in the industry. It may be advisable to publish the results of the shipments to South 'Africa so that thoic

interested may know exactly llie profits made, and estimate tho potentialities of the trade. Besides the export of poultry there is, we believe, a lucrative trade to be dono in the export of eggs, and in some of the European countries a very considerable business is transacted. The export of frozen eggs and the keeping of eggs in cold storo pending shipment and in times of plenty, when prices are cheap, to times when supplies are scarce and prices high, has been solved in Australia, and there can be no difficulty in the matter of New Zealand, and some steps should be taken to encourage the export of eggs. We are inclined to think that tlio poultry industry will have to be developed on the co-operative system, to which the dairy industry owes so much for its progress, and in this connection it may be mentioned that this principle of co-opera-tion is applied to the business in Denmark with very great success. The difficulty in the way of the egg trade is the regular collection and the grading of the supplies. In Denmark, in 1895, the first step was taken, when a co-operative society for organised egg collection and export was founded: Under this organisation local societies were established all over the country, whose members engaged to deliver fresh eggs, and upon whom the substantial fine of 5s 6d was imposed for every bad egg delivered after previous warning had been given. A deduction waS also- made from the price paid for eggs if "dirty ones were delivered, but no washing of the eggs was permitted. Tne eggs were marked with the distinctive number of the member and the local society, so the sender of every egg could be- ascertained. The eggs are collected weekly by the local societies from their members,- and sent to the central establishment in boxes with cardboard partitions, each holding 1000 eggs. The price paid to the members is the sale price fixed by the central society, less the cost of collection and export. Thus in 1899/ the value of the eggs was fixed at s|d per lb, from which just one halfpenny was deducted for expenses, so 'that the price paid to the farmers was 4|d per lb. In 1896 there ' were six local societies with 2000 members, and in 1899 there were 365 such societies with 22,000 members ; and the value of the eggs sold that year was £865,000 as against £400,000 i» 1894, the year prior to, the formation of the co-operative society. Tho Denmark system may not be exactly applicable to New Zealand, but some system of co-operation will be necessary. It would be far more satisfactory for the farmers to manage their own business, as' in the case of dairying, than to leave 'it to the Government to handle. It is, of course, quite necessary for the Government experts to do the supervising and grading, and supply the technical information, but the business arrangements should be retained by the farmers, The merchants of Wellington helped very considerably in the development of dairying, and it is to be hoped that -the' same active support will be given jfco the poultry trade. The time is not far distant when this colony will be a very large exporter both of feggs and poultry, but the business wants careful handling in the meantime, and the hearty co-operation of the city merchants and the farmers. £he industry is capable of affording a certain livelihood for many small settlers, and, what is a very important consideration, will give occupation to ipany people incapable of hai'd manual labour.