DAIRY PRODUCE

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 98, 27 April 1935, Page 10

DAIRY PRODUCE

AUSTRALIAN NEEDS

CONFERENCE IN SYDNEY

IMPORTANT DECISIONS

(From "The Post's" Representative.) SYDNEY, April 17.

A National Dairying Conference, which met in Sydney this week, reached decisions that will, it is expected, profoundly affect the marketing of the industry's products. The conference recognised the ne-cessity-for a single statutory body to which the Minister of Commerce could go for urgent advice on critical occasions, and it recommended-the addition of three producers' representatives to the Dairy Produce Export Board. There was a sharp division of opinion on a proposal that an excise duty should be imposed on all butter and butter substitutes to provide a premium for the choicest quality produced. The proposal was defeated by a narrow margin. The conference agreed that it should be a recommendation to each State Government that each Government should use every means in its power to uplift the quality of Australian butter. It decided to recommend that the Dairy Produce Export Board should increase the amount voted for advertising Australian dairy produce in Britain. It decided also to support a previous request that the Commonwealth Government should make an increased grant to the fund for advertising Australian products in Britain. A resolution was agreed •to approving a recommendation of the Dairy Produce Export Board and the Australian Dairy Council for the adoption of three brands only for Australian butter and cheese exported to Britain —a uniform design of the outline of Australia for butter and cheese grading 90 points, and upwards; the national brand "Kangaroo" to be applied only to choicest 92 points and over, and "First Grade" to be stamped on 90 and 91 grades; the name of the factory to be included; a distinctive brand for second grade and pastry, with a numeral only to indicate the factory. The conference decided to recommend to the Commonwealth Government that an excise duty of 6d a lb should be placed on all margarine and butter substitutes wherein imported oils, fats, and whale oil were incorporated. MINISTER STRESSES QUALITY. The Minister of Commerce (Dr. Page) in a speech to the conference, said: "I ask you to consider whether the present system of organisation is not wasteful of both efforts and funds. It seems to me that the ability which is available in the industry could be concentrated on current problems in a more efficient and economical manner. Some important problems are not being attended to at all by existing organisations, or are the subject of'controversy. It appears that, among the activities of all these bodies, there is no specific concentration on the improvement of quality; yet this is of paramount importance. Is there not, in fact, a danger that the fixation of a high internal price, the narrow margins between choicest and lower grades, and the equalisation of returns, will cause a further, decline in quality, unless positive steps are taken to check the decline and effect an improvement? A further decline in quality would be disastrous to pur position in> the British' market." Dr. Page; suggested that the conference should also consider the cost to the industry of the levies imposed for the maintenance of the existing organisations. The Dairy Produce Control Board received a levy of one-thirtieth of a penny a pound on butter and one-sixtieth of a penny of a pound on cheese. On June 30 last its accumulated surplus was £17,500. The Australian Dairy Council received a levy on export of a halfpenny a package of butter and cheese. Its accumulated funds on June 30 amounted to £12,151. The Equalisation Committee and the State Dairy Products Boards levied varying amounts on production. As far as he could judge from a casual examination, the amounts collected appeared to be in excess of requirements.' The total amount collected from the industry to maintain these organisations exceeded £80,000 a year. It might be found possible to direct the expenditure of that sum into more beneficial channels. Portion of the funds might be used, with profit, as an increased annual contribution to the trade publicity funds.