NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19844, 17 July 1926, Page 13

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE.

THE HOME MARKETS. BUTTER LOSING POPULARITY. MR POLSON’S INFORMATIVE TOUR (Fbom Our Own Correspondent.) WANGANUI, July 16. In tho course of an interview Mr W. J. Poison, Now Zealand President of the Farmers’ Union, who has just returned from Home, where he has been in connection with the agricultural bank investigations, dealt with the dairy industry. Ho said that he was more firmly convinced than ever that there must be no relaxing in the quality of our exports if we were going to maintain our position in the Home markets. The commission during its travels learned of great increases of butter production, in various countries such as Argentina, Denmark, Esthonia, Finland, and far away Siberia. A very much creasing quantity of excellent butter was* being imported into Great Britain. Mr Poison spent some time in Tooley street, and also in the Danish Export Association’s depots. He had been shown Danish butter of the best quality they were capable of producing, and tho Esthonia butter was almost equally as good. _ The aims of the Danish were to get rid of their butter as fresh as possible. He was afraid that latterly we had rather lost sight of the importance of this side of the question in New Zealand of landing a fresh article on the London market. They had been shown a good deal of New Zealand butter which, through someone’s fault, had reached the market in a stale condition. Some of this tasted of inferior boxing and some tasted of preservative, and showed evidence of long storing. The commission had been considerably perturbed to learn that this complaint regarding our butter had become very general, and. duo to this defect, large orders had gone past us which formerly had invariably been given to New Zealand. Various merchants and large retailers in different parts of England and Scotland had assured them that our butter was not of such good quality as formerly. Mr Poison was inclined to think that if our butter had deteriorated in quality it was duo to circumstances over which we. as a people, had no control, and that it had been over long in store. On the other hand the quality of o!r competitors’ butter had shown a vast improvement, and a considerable increase in output was taking place. Australian butter was now equalling our price, and the Australians were pursuing a policy rather similar to the Danes, and were getting their butter into consumption as rapidly as possible. This was one of tho problems that the Control Board would have to deal with if it were going to have a regular market. It would be difficult at times to prevent a certain amount of storage of butter, but there was no reason why, seeing that the men who comprised our Dairy Control Board had a full knowledge of the position, they would not bo able to judge just when it would be best to hold and when to sell. Mr Poison was alarmed at the tone of some of the merchants in regard to control. Quito a number of merchants had admitted that they were determined not to submit to dictation from New Zealand, and had consequqently placed orders elsewhere. Mr Poison did his best to inform these people that New Zealand had no intention of attempting to dictate, and it was the last thing that the members of the Dairy Control Board had in their minds. What they were proposing to do was to work along the lines which had been so successfully followed by the Meat Control Board. There were certain difficulties attached to the export of butter which did not exist in regard to the export of meat, which made it very difficult tor the Dairy Board to exercise control. Mr Poison further explained _ that the board was anxious to popularise New Zealand butter, and at the same time to protect the producers and sellers, and to assure a properly regulated supply. Further questioning assured Mr Poison that the objection of the merchants was to arbitrary dictation, and not to control. As he understood it, there could be no objection to a control which was becoming increasingly necessary everywhere, and to which every country is directing its attention. The U.S.A. is legislating and giving farmers’ boards co-operative control, and Argentina is also directing attention to the matter. Various countries in Europe were also doing it. Australia has a Meat Board, and is now establishing a Dairy Board. New Zealand had a successful illustration of the operations of the Meat Board. He was satisfied that the members of the board were endeavouring to do their best for the benefit of the industry, and had no desire to stir up the position by making impossible demands upon the British merchants, but rather to stimulate and assist in the marketing of our produce. Mr Poison found that our cheseo occupied a very high place in tho English market, und ho believed that we could achieve a position unassailable. He had personally little knowledge of the cheese business, but he was very much impressed with tho high opinion expressed regarding New Zealand cheese. He was agreeably surprised to find this opinion so largely shared by so many merchants. While in Denmark he received the greatest courtesy and assistance from the heads of the cooperative organisations. He attended tho markets of the Danish producers, and had been given information which he had al ready discussed with the English authorities in Cambridge, Including Sir William Hardy, who was in charge of the Government experimental cool storage. The information and the exchange of ideas he believed would be valuable in regard to some of the New Zealand exports. He intended to discuss these matters fully with the Meat Board on tho first opportunity. Mr Poison went fully Into the Danish methods of marketing their bacon. The Danish farmers were getting something in the region of IPd live weight for their pigs, and by adopting the Danish methods of marketing Mr Poison was inclined to think, from what the authorities told him, that the Dominion could put a bacon with identical appearance and quality upon the English market.