Tooley Street’s Views

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 400, 7 July 1928, Page 1

Tooley Street’s Views

DOMINION’S FUTURE BRIGHT Success Rests With Producers AN extremely optimistic view of the prospects for the dairy industry is held by Mr. A. J. Mills, a London visitor to Auckland, chairman of Messrs. A. J. Mills and Co., of Tooley Street, a firm with half a century’s experience of world-wide produce marketing.

In an interview with The Sun this morning he gave a warning, but drew a bright picture of the prospects for New Zealand producers. WRONG IMPRESSIONS “I want to emphasise,” he said, “that nearly all the regrettable results of the last few years have been brought about by want of confidence between the? producer and the distributor. There has come into being an almost general impression that Tooley Street is composed of a lot of sharps out to “do” the producers. Nothing could be more contrary to fact, and Tooley Street, to use the comprehensive name now applied to the London distributors, could not have existed on sharp and dishonest practices. “This bogey has taken the producers’ mind from his job, and has wasted most valuable time. “We want the producer to pay attention to his job, to improve and expand his business, and he will get honesty and every assistance in London. A moment’s reflection will enable the producer to see that we are British like himself, doing business in what we are proud to call the hub of the world, and ready to do our bit in a huge business. “The period of unrest was brought about by New Zealand itself. England had nothing to do with it, and now we want the period to be followed by a better appreciation of our efforts and interests, and a ‘go-ahead’ spirit and pertinacity in following up the present advantageous position.” Explaining the position, Mr. Mills pointed out that though the working classes in England, Germany and elsewhere on the Continent, had continually improved their position, and th# first call was for better food, three years’ returns by the Board of Trade showed that Britain had imported less butter in 1927 than it did in 1925. SUPPLY INSUFFICIENT

In other words the producers in this and other countries had not been able to supply the quantity required, and prices had increased.

The proof of the demand exceeding the supply was best demonstrated by the fact that with European and seasons now in their flush New Zealand butter was bringing from 176 s to 178 s a hundredweight. In Mr, Mills’s opinion saturation point in Britain is not even in sight, and the New Zealand producer can increase his exports enormously yet. The official butter import figures into Britain for the last three years ending on December 31, were: 1925 .. .. . . . . 5,853,245 cwt 1926 5,818,840c\vt 1927 • • 5,826,865 cwt Xew Zealand butter is now sold in tens of thousands of shops, but its exports to Britain are not increasing sufficiently. The figures for the same three years were:-*— 1925 1,255,439 cwt 1926' 1,153, S9t»cwt 1927 1,260,720 c wt Denmark is gradually increasing. Canada has fallen out, and Australia has decreased from 1,161,238 cwt to 488,721 cwt. CHEESE A MONOPOLY In the cheese market Xew Zealand has almost a monopoly. Canada, its only serious competitor, is turning its exports to the United States, and according to Mr. Mills Xew Zealand can exploit the cheese market with the utmost confidence. Xew Zealand imports of cheese to Great Britain have increased as follows: 1925, 1.391,500 cwt: 1926, -1,496,901 cwt; and 1927, 1,611,867 cwt; while Canada has fallen from 1.252,894 cwt in 1925 to 543,923 cwt in 1927. Holland was the next largest in 228,066 cwt, but its Edam and Gouda cheeses are in a different class, and have -no competitors. HONEY PROSPECTS Xew Zealand will export 1,000 tons of honey to Britain this year, and Mr. Mills considers this market also bright. The “Imperial Bee” trademark of the Xew Zealand honey producers is gaining an ever-widening circle of consumers, and the public likes the makeup in the pound and half-pound bottles.