THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27567, 8 December 1950, Page 8

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

New Post-war Marketing Plan Deemed Unsound Staff Reporter The production of eggs has increased by 40 per cent, to 50 per cent, in the past few years, and the Poultry Board is now considering a new marketing .plan with the object of putting the industry on a sounder basis. It is held by many that the board, as at present constituted, does not truly represent the industry. It is claimed, too, that it is inefficient in its operation. While some of its members are producers, they also have large interests on the marketing side of the industry. The new plan envisages the development of what appears to be a top-heavy organisation comprising four autonomous councils for the major production districts and also a national council. It is likely to be both unwieldly and costly.

It might well be that the re-estab-lishment of the old Poultry Producers’ Federation, the existence-of which was arbitrarily ended with the passing of the Poultry Runs Registration Act, and the development of district country branches would function more efficiently in the interests of the industry as a whole. Prior to the passing of this Act, the industry was developing along sound lines and produced a.n exportable surplus of some 2,000,000 dozen eggs annually. Since that time, both consumption within the Dominion and production have increased. This result has been achieved despite the multiplicity of controls by, board, councils, group advisory committees and the national “consultative” committee to thei.board. - Despite this ponderous organisation and the fact that the industry advised that it could'meet Dominion requirements for this year, the. Marketing Department, during the 1948-49 season, ordered for this season the equivalent of 3,365,291 dozen eggs, in pulp form, from Australia. As a result, the market has been flooded with egg pulp. A proportion of it had to be re-ex-ported, and in order to quit the remainder during a period when local pulping was well under way, prices to bulk consumers had to be cut. Apparently as an offset against this cut, producers throughout the country had their returns reduced. The reduction varied according to districts, but the Dunedin Egg Marketing Advisory Committee in a circular to producers stated that “ the price of eggs for pulp manufacture for the current season has been fixed at 2Jd a dozen below the ruling wholesale price.” The deduction was later reduced to a dozen. There is a surplus of eggs in the South Island, if not in the North, and pulping is taking place at a time when surpluses should go into cool stores for chilling, so that the eggs could be distributed to the trade when production is at its lowest. Such a practice is adopted in both Australia and South Africa, countries which export large quantities. It is asserted that no worthwhile progress will be made in the development and expansion of the industry until producers as a whole, and not a small section of them, are in a position to operate and direct their own affairs.;. In theory, the present provincial councils give democratic control, but when it is realised that all the Otago representatives on the OtagoSouthland council live within nine miles- of 'Dunedin, it can readily be seen that the mass of producers (well over 1500) have no voice. This. it is pointed out, can be remedied only by the setting up of district branches which would send delegates to a provincial council, which in turn would send a representative to a con-

trolling board. The present method eliminates all possibility of country producers' representatives going on the council. Little .information concerning the work of the council, except that which reaches a few by word of mouth, is vouchsafed to the great mass of producers, who remain in ignorance of the council’s work. It is contended, too, that the rank and file of the industry no longer have any voice as to who shall be producer members of the Poultry Board. Election is done by the provincial councils. This procedure can scarcely be in the best interests of the industry. The Poultry Board obtains its finance from the. registration fees for poultry runs, arid from deductions from payments for eggs’- to those producers who support orderly marketing through egg floors. It was originally ■estimated that the fees would be sufficient to maintain the board: The board in turn financed the councils, but these and members honoraria have more than absorbed ■ the board’s income. The result has been that for some years it has shown a deficit, except last year when it had a surplus of £4566, due entirely to the fact that the Government gave it £SOOO. If the Poultry Board were” efficiently constituted, it is contended, there would be no occasion to set up a consultative committee (composed of thb district council chairmen) whose expenses for 1949 were £244 for visits to Wellington to advise the board, itself elected (or appointed) by the district councils. Board members’ expenses and honoraria, etc., require another £2311 of producers’ money, and salaries and administration expenses account for £I4OB. If the industry were expanding, and blunders such as the last pulp importation avoided, it is'- felt that these costs to the industry would be justified, but they are not. The Provincial Council and the Consultative Committee are redundant and unnecessarily expensive organisations, the functions of both being capable of much more efficient and democratic handling through Federated Farmers. This fact was recognised m the Otago area in 1946, when affiliation what that body was recommended and carried into effect. . The new post-war marketing plan for the industry has been drawn up by the present chairman of the Poultry Board, himself a producer. This plan appears on the face., of things to be simply a case of getting rid of one set of inefficient committees and replacing them with others. Ministerial approval should not be given to any proposal or, plan until it has been closely scrutinised by all members of the industry, and there are some thousands. So far, only a few people (some with dual interests) have been fortunate enough _to have had an opportunity to study it.