PRODUCER BENEFITS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16210, 7 December 1926, Page 5

PRODUCER BENEFITS

DAIRY BOARD'S POLICY REVIEW OF POSITION A review of the position of tiic butter market which has lately improved, and the policy of the Dairy Control Board, was given last week by Mr. J. R. Thacker, acting-chairman of the board.

Now that tiie board's work in marketing had been launched and was definitely in operation, it was simplt*, said Mr. Thacker, to review the position, and the possibilities afforded producers. The improvements effected „••/ the board in shipping and insurance had been negotiated quietly and introduced without; turmoil or opposition; but the same certainly could not be said of marketing. On the contrary, this had. been resisted and fought over a long period by a mass of propaganda and misrepresentation, iti face of which it was not surprising i'f some producers became confused. This, made it all the, more necessary to review the position and state the possibilities in relation to producers' objectives. This sectional- opposition in its later stages had boon helped Inthe circumstances of the coal strike i and the sustained storage of some New Zealand butter for. an expected rise,', which did not occur because of extra T.uropean supplies combined with,reduced purchasing power of 1M" people. These stocks, however, wore now cleaned up io all practical purposes, and normal marketing would develop on a basis which, because of the information that would now be available, would prevent a repetition of such experiences in the future. NO MONOPOLY OR DICTATION Attempts had been made to repre-

sent the producers' objectives as monopoly of dictation, he continued. That was not so. Producers simply

wanted equity and fair market value as adjusted with competitive butters. To. secure this, tho joint committee between the London agency and the London importers was functioning. The value of its prompt and liquid adjustment to the market was demonstrated in tho third week, when on successive days, through market improvements, the nominated price was twico lifted four shillings prior to the exhaustion of stocks by heavy buying. That subsequent rise undoubtedly meant money in the pocket of the producer.

Artificial efforts against price naming had even gono so far as to suggest a boycott. This had been proved a myth by market events, and he was satisfied that timo would so speedily demonstrate the advantages of itsteady price to the regular distributors that speculative propaganda 'would die a natural death. The regular trader liked a regular market. The speculator liked an' irregular market. It was the regular trader who made contact with the consumer, and it was with the consumer that the producer W&nted his closest contact on tho basis of quality and fair market price. The producer was not interested ill the speculator who sought market mani-j pulations to his own advantage. Farmers had had enough of the annual slumps of the past, and in facing a lower level of economic prce* simply could not afford to take t'.ie risk of a manipulated seasonal flump. Regularity and evenness in price returns were essential, and these could only be obtained by marketing organisation permitting regular shipments of comparatively even quantities vi produce and 'he supervision of its proper handling in Britain, so as to reach the consumer without damage, together with the oversight of sales, with full knowledge of stocks and competitive quantities, so as to secure justice for the producer. This organisation would give, the British consumer more regular supplies of fresher New Zealand butter; would avoid excessive storage and excessive price variations, and through advertising would permit. th< ; development of 'valuable national good-will. j

UP TO FARMERS THEMSELVES If farmers remained solid and gave the board the backing necessary to ( the successful application of tho policy, Mr. Thacker declared, thev would for all time kill the severity of the seasonal slump which in the past, always afflicted New Zealand butter, j There would, of course, be market variations, but with spread shipment) and orderly marketing they could not: repeat the* sudden drops of £6O a ton! within a fortnight, and so wipe out 25 per cent, to 30 per cent, of the ex-, pected value of our produce. Stop-j page of the slump leak alone would, in his opinion, mean approximately, £1,000,000 to New Zealand,, and it was surprising to him that the advantages of this to the general trade of the country were no better appreciated by the Government, by the commer-j eial circles dependent upon the far- ( mer, and by the press of the country. The evidence of the Imperial Eeono-. mic Committee showed that these sea-' sonal slumps were capable of being minimised—but only if comprehensive action were taken. This rested with the producers. Certain elements of j weakness had been developed, and tho effort made to kill the board's policy without trial. That had not succeed- j

ed, but it was unfortunately true than the efforts to divide the producers had sensibly* weakened the application of the board's policy. The enemies of the farmers knew only too well the, difficulty of securing unity amongst farmers, and they had planned and worked accordingly. Producers would have to fight against such weakening efforts. They now had the chance of their lives to secure permanent improvement in marketing, but they could only safeguard that chance by ensuring the board's policy a fair trial. ——— i