THE BUTTER MARKETS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20724, 18 November 1930, Page 12

THE BUTTER MARKETS.

Sir, —The Dairy Control Board has wasted tens of thousands of pounds of the farmers' money in misdirected and futile efforts to popularise New Zealand butter in England, because the one thing essential to have insured success has been omitted by them. In the past years our agents, beyond securing the best- possible price for tlte bulk sales, have taken little interest in its final distribution. Had this interest been taken and a guarantee exacted from, each buyer of a box of New Zealand butter that- the same must ho sold to tho consumer as New Zealand product wo would not have been swept aside by our foreign competitors and our butter would have continued to be sold on a parity with theirs. At all costs we must regain our position 011 tho British butter market and it can only be regained by a united effort, in which, for the general advantage, many of us must sink our personal predilections and temporarily make use of an instrument in a national emergency of which wo should otherwise disapprove—l refer to State control of exported dairy produce. There are three measures that might bo taken to save tho position. First, for the dairy companies to pool all their local salqs, selling 110 butler in New Zealand at Jess than Is 6d a lb.; second, dissolve our useless Control Board; and third, for the Government to temporarily undertake the export sale of our butter, guaranteeing the pi<>ducer Is a lb. The Government should be empowered to spend if necessary a million pounds effectually advertising our products in every important centre in England. The method of advertising might, bo by distributing free one or two pounds of New Zealand's best to, say, fun million English homes, with the intimation that it was the production of their own kith and kin and that named distributors in each centre would call upon them and supply the same at the ruling price of Danish. If this were done I believe we should soon regain our position on tho British market and that our dairy farmers could onco again face the fnturo with confidence. Whitianoa.