MARKETING EGGS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22878, 5 November 1937, Page 14

MARKETING EGGS

STATE AID SOUGHT THE DANGER OF HASTE BOARD CHAIRMAN'S WARNING Proposed empowering legislation being sought by the Auckland Import and Egg .Marketing Committee to control the handling of eggs, was referred to last uight by the chairman of the New Zealand Poultry Board, Mr. A. K. Knowles, who issued a note of warning to producers. Mr. Knowles said there wero two proposed schemes, both having many points in common, sponsored respectively by the Auckland I'lgg Marketing Committee on one hand and the Jvew Zealand Poultry Hoard and the New Zealand Poultry. Producers' Federation on the other. Both asked for Government regulations to compel producers to market their eggs through some delined channel. The Auckland committee asked that producers bo compelled tc> place their' entire output through the existing lho board's scheme called for the setting up of central grading floors, through which all eggs must pass before being finally distributed; with the exception that producer-agents with existing connections would be recognised. Regarding methods of control, the Auckland committee asked that control be placed in a committee composed of agents and producers' representatives; while the board's scheme required the setting up of a committee or board composed of producers and Government representatives only. The elimination of the agents from the actual control of the produce would make them purely distributors 011 commission and under licence. . Mr. Knowles emphasised that, as chairman of the New Zealand Poulti.v Board, he felt it his duty to producers to warn them not to sign anything hastily, but to await the full facts, which* would be placed before public meetings forthwith. Any accepted scheme should bo Dominion wide, lie added. A body set up at Auckland would undoubtedly have to control the whole of the Auckland Province, m which there were 58,447 poultrykeepers, representing 1.238,614 lieaxl of poultry (1,0(54,535 fowls and 174.079 ducks). At present approximately 800 producers supplied the existing agents, and the producers' representatives on the Auckland Egg Committee were elected from this limited number.