DAIRY PRODUCE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 10 April 1945, Page 3

DAIRY PRODUCE

BRITISH MARKETING POST-WAR PROSPECTS A review of the vast organisation set up in wartime Britain to lacilitatc the distribution of dairy produce, and some indications of the post-war prospects of butter and cheese, were given 1 recently at Auckland by Mr T. N. | Maxwell, managing-director of the j New Zealand Produce Association, Ltd. j Mr Maxwell who is visiting New j Zealand on a business trip of about) five months duration, is also London : manager of the National Dairy Assq- 1 eiation of New Zealand. Ltd., and a member of the management committee j of the Butter and Cheese Association, Ltd., the United Kingdom organisation which acts as a link between the British Ministry of Food and the wholesale trade. A former resident of Auckland and an old boy of King's College, he has spent the past nine years in London. SUCCESSFUL DISTRIBUTING PLAN Mr Maxwell emphasised from the outset that all butter was now marketed in Britain as National Butter, and the produce of all producing countries had lost Us individuality. As the sole importer of dairy produce, the British Ministry of Food made direct purchases. arranged for shipments and dis-1 tributed the produce on arrival at vari-j ous ports to storage depots throughout J the United Kingdom, so that it was i available at each consuming centre. A| policy of decentralisation was intro-) duced so that each sector of the coun- 1 try was self-contained. When it became obvious that war in , Europe was likely, the British Governmtnt called in experts in each type of! foodstuff and planned a rationing and distributing system. This plan proved so efficient in practice and ensured all j a fair share of available supplies that' tio major alterations were required. 1 As the requirements of the war ef-! fort for rhanpower developed, it became obvious to the British Government that l , all distributive services had to be streamlined so as to operate with a minimum of staff. Importers were asked to sink their individuality and to merge their distributive services into central organisations capable of rendering a national service. This led to the formation of the Butter and Cheese Association, Ltd., which was managed and staffed from the trade and had branch offices throughout the country. VALUE OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE Asked about the probable effect of a continuation of these national distributive organisations in the post-war period. Mr Maxwell replied that while a commodity was in short supply and barely covered the ratifying requirements it was obvious that strict control must continue, but with the end of the state of emergency and the release of manpower it should be possible. and was highly desirable, that individual importers should again become links in the chain of distribution. While importers had gladly sunk their individuality and the interests of their firms for the national effort, it was doubtful whether national organisations created for wartime distribution could render a comparable service to that built up over many years by individual importers who had the experience and intimate knowledge of the trade and the producing countries. COMPETITION FROM MARGARINE Discussing the fears entertainffd by the New Zealand dairy farmer that margarine might have established a I oosition with consumers that would detrimentally affect the post-war demand for New Zealand butter, Mr Maxwell admitted that margarine was an excellent product which had proved of great assistance in helping to provide the fats necessary for the British consumer. However, if the price of butter was not allowed to rise unduly high he was' of the opinion that a ready demand would exist for all New Zealand could produce, but no efforts should be spared to maintain, and, if possible, improve the high quality of the article. Efforts should be made as early as possible to have New Zealand produce sold as such, so that the excellent quality would help to re-establish the goodwill which previously existed. When this occurred, no doubt the New Zealand authorities would see to it that their effective advertising campaign was resumed. All branches of farming in Great Britain had made wonderful progress under the wartime necessity to produce

as much food as possible from their own soil. Fears had been expressed that the British farmer would seek, by way of subsidy and import restrictions, to conserve the British market so that its future would not be prejudiced. BRITISH DEMAND FOR MILK So far as butter and cheese were con. cerned. Mr Maxwell expressed the view that this should not result in any curtailment of supplies from New Zealand, as it was questionable if the production of butter and cheese in Britain could be an economic propostion. It was also reasonable to contend that there should exist in Britain a demand for all the whole milk the British farmer could produce. It was not yet clear what the immediate post-war position would be regarding the supply of butter and cheese from the Continent, but it was known that the dairy cow population in France, Holland and Denmark had not been reduced to the extent that had been thought previously. The policy ol the United Nations was to feed the liberated countries, and it was possible that Continental production would be required for this purpose for a considerable time before it again appeared on the British market. In conclusion, Mr Maxwell made a pertinent comment on post-war trade developments. He referred to the fact that Britain would have to find markets for industrial products. Those countries which wished to ship produce to the United Kingdom might find that their capacity to take exports from Britain would have a bearing on the arrfount of produce they could ship.