PROGRESS OF OVERSEAS FARMMERS' DEVELOPMENTS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 10 March 1923, Page 3

PROGRESS OF OVERSEAS FARMMERS' DEVELOPMENTS.

A Specially Contributed Article to Imperial Food Journal and Empire Produce News. .'\.: At a time when much effort; is being extended for the improvement of commercial relations between the two ends of i the Empire, with particular regard to food industry, it is interesting to record the progress of a Dominions food marketing undertaking of wide and important dimensions which has come into being within'-the past few'years, and has now taken a firm root in the ground •of food industry as a recognised instrumeht of Empire trading., / • The Imperial Fo^ Journal has^ from its first issues just two years ago, kept well in view those objects of Empire . food trade development for which is was especially established,and it is because

I m?,,?*?, 86*8 Far^s' movfrI;Mei t. the inception of which it recorded in its first number, has established ai™u n the food markets' of the work! to be not <>niy a . normally aid legitimately conducted enterprise of value to the producer and of service to the consumer, but also has already wo„ for itself an bonou!x>d place 7in these markets by reason of its full recognition of all legitimatetrading channels, that the Imperial Food Journal addresses itself readily to the * task .ot this review of the present development of the movement As far back as 1895, New Zealand farmers established their own office here for the buying of exports and the superintending: of marketing of any produce sent over for sale in the United Kingdom This office was originally managed by th^late 0. H. Inglis, anS subsequently by-Sir Thomas Mackenzie, and m 1904 hy Mr A. D. Henderson who successfully carried out the responsibilities until October, 1920 when the merging mentioned later in this article took place. '■■-.. 3 . JrL 19A 8 *w e Co -°Pc rative Associations or South Africa joined .hands with their New Zealand friends and used the office before mentioned. It was in the latter part of 1920 that; the Overseas Farmers' Federation had its. inception, and was due.to the de-* ci^t>n of the Australian Producers' VVliolesale Co-operative Federation Proprietary, Ltd., representing eleven federated companies having twenty nve millions sterling1, to establish themselves in&ngland m a similar way to that in which their confreres from * New . Zealand and South Africa had previously 'Jil C,^ E- P Meares, general manager of the>Coastal Farmers 7 Co-operative Sopiety, and Mr Basil 1,. Murray, mairaging director of the Westralian' *trar7 T<Z?' •?•'• J OTmed a deputation in V IJ^O, .and after mature investigation 7 here, decided that rather 'than set upa 7 sepai-ate organisation, it was in the in- ' terests of all concerned thatthey should ■'■ amalgamate with New Zealand md' fcsouth Africa. This was accordingly effected, with the !e.stabli s h*jnent,of ceu- '"*■. tral^organismg premises in London. M r A. j&x Gough being appointed* London manager. The following particulars of the present gratifying position^ of the federation movement are eained from Mr Gough, who has built un a recognised position in the leading food and produce markets, with a large working; staff around him at theNcentral Chis- > well Street offices, in Tooley Street, and eslewhere. * '^7 i_ An endeavour was made to preseryo the identity of the three founders of the present London organisation, via.: The Australian Producers' Wholesale Cooperative Federation Proprietary Ltd; the Farmers' Co-6nerative Wholesale Federation (N.Z.), Lta., and the Federated Farmers' Co-ooerative Associjwtion of South Africa, Ltd., but it was found impracticable to trade under three names. This and many points of importance needed discussion, and a further conference was .called in London in June of this year. As a .result of these deliberations jit was decided to register in corporate r'"'--. form in the United Kingdom, the name unanimously agred upon as covering the operations of all the 7 associations from the Southern Hemisphere being ''The Overseas Farmers' Co-operative Federations, Ltd." 7; The first yeAr of actual trading operations of the federation was-not really ended until June last, in which twelve-month the turnover had approximated to three millions. All the preliminary expenses' in cOnnoxtion with the. foundation of the movement have been wiped out. and the movement de- - claredwell, on the road to the success 3 which later operations have further confirmed. The range of food ,and produce which the federation deals with ineliides.such commodities as butter, cheese, bacon, eggs;;,*'.jam and . dried "fruit, green fruis*.3fruit pulp, meat, talldw, cotton, wheat and grj»in c andsun- ;' dries. The; dried fruit operations winch . the, federation had conducted on Tbehalf of the South African Dried Fruit j C 0.,. have been, very conside*rabie7 over 100,7, ■ ■■'-..'■ •--' ■ •■- x-' ■■■• ■- \-y,,,. '-.-/. -,'a. ■-. •..'-.'..•■ -:ft.*'l •

000 boxes of dried fruit having: been dealt with this season. This department shows great potentialities, all classes of fruit, including raisins, sultanas, prunes, apricots, and peaches being dealt witn. Recently the Overseas Farmers' Federation was approached by the Californian Fruit Colorations with a view to supervising and selling i ta trmt shipments, and this work.it has taken :'.u hand, operating through well recognised brokers in London. Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Hiiti. The federation had a considerable and promising business in Australian egg importation last year, some 30 000 cases being handled. 'Last year's slnpiments were perfect, and 'the carl'er shipments for this season also share the same excellent reputation. There is always a first-class demand in the "United Kingdom tor a firstclass article, and eggs are an outstanding example of this. The report of the first year's operations of the federation has been exceedingly well received in the countries of origin, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Mr Gough, who has furnished the above particulars of the federation to tl**e Imperial Food Journal, emphasises the tact that the movement has no grumble with the well-established and economic channels of trade distribution, but rather is out to abolish all forms of speculation in produce wh'eh benefit no one but the speculator himself. He claims that by the invariable policy iv the federation's dealings of the recognition of customary channels of disposal throughout the United Kingdom the importer and merchant alike have already come to real;ze iii the federation a compeer whose influence is all for r*ood in the feneral expansion of British Colonial food business. ' mm ' "*—*m———**^ mmm.