The Daily News SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1930. MARKETING DAIRY PRODUCE

Taranaki Daily News, 6 December 1930, Page 6

The Daily News SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1930. MARKETING DAIRY PRODUCE

The views expressed by Mr. W. Goodfellow when addressing - the New-, ZealaAd Dairy Council on Thursday were not new, being in, accord with the policy advocated by him for some time past. His analysis of the present position of the dairy industry will doubtless be followed by those concerned with close attention, add probably with more or less criticism, if only for. the reason that he has given much practical study to the marketing side of the industry. In common with most economists, Mr. Goodfellow emphasises that as the producers are now receiving less than pre-war value for their goods it is . impossible to maintain, much less to expand, the dairy industry unless immediate steps are taken to reduce the farmers’ costs. That contention is unanswerable, the difficulty being in finding the means whereby reduced costs can be obtained. The six remedies proposed by Mr. Goodfellow, could they be obtained and applied, would certainly be of appreciable value. They consist of an all-round reduction of rates and taxes, lowering the duty on all requisites of farmers and dairy factories, placing the railways under' “independent commercial control,” eliminating Arbitration Court awards, removing duties on wheat and flour, and, lastly, the establishment of a coalition Government. All these specifics have been before the public for some time past, and most of them have raised controversies from various sections of the public, especially those affecting the revenue of the country, the main reason being that the, need for maintaining the finances of the country is imperative, and that relief for any one or more section of the community will obviously place additional burdens on the other sections. Admitting that the primary producers are the backbone of the country, it still has to be recognised that the laws of political economy and those of equity cannot be infringed with impunity. It is significant that Mr. Goodfellow asserts that only a strong Government can reduce expenditure, therefore it is “vital for such a Government to get -together and cut down national expenses right and left.” There are not a few who place much confidence in strength, but infinitely prefer wisdom, justice, and the capacity to ensure a fair deal all round. Was.it not a “strong” Government that displayed unpardonable weakness in permitting the Dairy Control-Board to be clothed with arbitrary powers of price fixation and other dangerous autocratic evils, that led to the bottom being knocked out of the New Zealand dairy produce on the London market? Those who bear in mind the history concerning those powers and the pretence that was made that they would not be used except as a last resource may well prefer discretion to strength and sane unity beyond everything. Admitting, though with deep concern and regret, the correctness of Mr. Goodfellow’s assertion that the problem now facing the dairy industry exceeds in magnitude any previous problem which has confronted the industry, it . would appear to be only prudent for the producers to carefully examine, in the light of history, and of world factors influencing dairy produce, every proposal submitted for solving the problem the best interests of the producers as a whole. It is obvious that the problem cannot be dealt with by simply unloading it on to the shoulders of even a strong Government, though, as has been suggested already, there is much the Government could do with the co-opera-tion of primary producers and business men. It would have been interesting to have had an elaboration of Mr. Goodfellow’s ideas on the possibility of such co[operation and the means to be employed in reducing production

costs in this country, but the question of marketing seems to have occupied his attention more fully than anything else. He declared that under the present conditions the method of marketing New Zealand produce was hopelessly out of date and required “rationalising to eliminate as far as possible all unnecessary competition, and so to secure to the producer the fair market value for his goods.” A most worthy aim. But what does he mean by this rationalising? What deduction is to be drawn from his reference to the great superiority in price obthe Danes as the result of. th'eib better non-competitive marketing method? Price fixation and “rationalisation” under the Dairy Control Board caused sufficient loss to warn the producers for all time against the repetition of any such scheme. Marketing is surely the most dangerous problem of all, and any false step in attempting to deal with it while conditions are what they are to-day would lead to disaster.