MARGARINE MERGER

Taranaki Daily News, 16 July 1929, Page 16

MARGARINE MERGER

BIG COMBINE IN EUROPE.

Mr. M. S. Foley, managing director of Foley Brothers, Limited, on his arrival in Sydney recently,"said that in recent years the whole margarine industry ot Central Europe and England had been merged in one huge combine. This combine controlled a capital of over £14,with a reserve of nearly £5,000.000 to deal with any competitors who might appear on the horizon. “There is no' use blinking the fact,” said Mr. Foley, “that margarine made from coconut oil now constitutes a very serious menace, not only to Australia, but to the butter industry throughout the world.”

The story of the foundation of Margarine Union, Limited, saiS Mr. Foley, reads like an industrial romance. From 1927 onwards there had been a gradual merging of Dutch, Central European and English interests, until to-day the combine was so powerful that the few remaining competitors were seeking to ally themselves with the union. Not only manufacturers of margarine had been drawn into the combine, but also manufacturers of oil, soap and other products in Austria, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Yugoslavia and Rumania. The chief commodity, however, upon which the immense combine had concentrated its energies was margarine. During 1928 Margarine Union, Limited, spent £1,600,000 in advertising. Although the quality even of the lowest grade margarine had been maintained, the price had been kept at pre-war level. After allowing for all expenses, including depreciation and the closing of many factories for the sake of greater, efficiency, the combine declared a dividend of 10 per cent, on ordinary shares for 1928.

“Canadian shippers do not want Australian butter,” he said. “The dumping duty imposed by the Canadian Minister offsets the bounty paid under the Paterson scheme. The dumping duty has even been made retrospective. The result is that last year Canada bought only £6OOO worth of butter from Australia and £1'250,000 worth from New Zealand. You see New Zealand was wise enough to arrange for a reciprocal tariff. Our Minister should look into the matter promptly if the Australian butter industry is to flourish.”