Manawatu Daily Times Bright Outlook for Dairy Produce

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6699, 28 August 1928, Page 6

Manawatu Daily Times Bright Outlook for Dairy Produce

In an address delivered before the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce; Mr,X J. Mills, who holds a prominent position in produce marketing world, had some things to say abo f ut the dairy industry which should be good news to New Zealand farmers, v lie is peculiarly competent to speak on aspects of /Empire trade in which this Dominion is directly interested and has come to .New Zealand with a • view to getting into closer association , with the ■powers that be in primary production.

In his opinion a great many of the troubles of the dairy producer in the Dominion have been brought about by a “grudging spirit” on his part toward the distributor as manifested in an endeavour “to stop the other fellow from obtaining a littje for what he did.” This spirit can only spell antagonism where corpperation is essential. In brief, the advice from Tooley Street, as conveyed,by Mr. Mills, is that it would be foolish for the New Zealand producer to attempt, in the matter of the marketing of his goods, to stand on a pedestal which must inevitably be upset. ";" v ‘ ■'' J

This counsel is timely, and perhaps it is the more likely to be heeded when, it is offered to the producer at first hand. For the placing'of this country ? s produce in the hands of the British retailer the .agency of distribution—a science in itself, as Mr. Mills reasonably affirms—is indispensable.' And the best marketing results will logically follow not when producer and distributor are more or less at loggerheads and,cross purposes, but -j when they work together in harmony and understanding.

Mr. Mills brings a cheerful message, as a matter of fact, for the dairying industry of the Dominion. He is most, optimistic in his view of the prospects for New Zealand produce in the Old Country. He believes that it should be possible for the Dominion to double its exports within a comparatively brief period of years and find a ready absorption for them. He has been the more disposed in all probability to emphasise these conclusions because he seems to have discovered, rather to his a’stonishment, that the New Zealand producer, after suffering the tribulations connected with control, is inclined to think that he is still more or less “under the weather,” and has failed to realise that he is now on a very much better footing in the Home market and that his produce is being more sought after than ever before.

To have from So authoritative a source an assurance that the outlook for the export trade in dairy produce is brighter than it has been for very many years is distinctly encouraging. It is Mr. Mills’ opinion that the expansion of the dairy industry in New Zealand can be continued with the utmost confidence, and that the producers may rest secure in the knowledge that the world’s demand for their output is increasing. Mr. Mills is not among those who believe that New Zealand is likely to have to face undue competition in the near future in the matter of dairy products from European countries and Siberia.

As New Zealand is already the largest supplier in the world of dairy products to Great Britain it is important to her producers to receive the assurance that the producers can work with confidence to increase their output for export. When (says the Otago Daily Times) a visitor in Mr. Mills’ position is at pains to emphasise the desirability of improved relations between the producers in this country and the distributors at Home he touches a question that has been too much overlooked by some of those who have been charged with responsibilities in relation to the exportation of produce.