EFFECT OF CUMBERSOME DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD IN GT. BRITAIN

Wanganui Chronicle, 24 November 1950, Page 2

EFFECT OF CUMBERSOME DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD IN GT. BRITAIN

LONDON, Nov. 22.—Another example of the effects of the cumbersome distribution of food in the United Kingdom caused by price control, consumer subsidies, and rationing, has come to light in Scotland. The Scottish people have a liking for coloured cheese, and before the war shipments from New Zealand to north of the Tweed contained as high a percentage as 50 per cent of coloured. It was always In demand. During the war, New Zealand shipped only white cheese to the United Kingdom, but at the suggestion of its Dairy Commission, resumed the manufacture of coloured cheese in order that British families might have a wider range of choice, and that regional demands for this type might be met. Some of this went to Scotland, where it met with a good demand. But owing to various complications of shipping and sorting, and the whole rationing machine, coloured cheese also found its way to the south and west of England, where the demand is almost entirely for white. Since it appears impossible under the present system to send coloured cheese to areas where it is appreciated, New Zealand reluctantly decided to cease making it. Traders are naturally irritated at this inability to overcome problems of suitable distribution, and in Glasgow they have suggested that the solution would be to return the trade from bulk purchasing to private trading which, they maintain, has proved itself more able to cater for individual requirements. Another opinion is that the end of bulk purchasing would not necessarily result in any improvement in the methods of distribution It is felt that what is required is the removal of rationing, price control and subsidies, together with a return of free play of market competition. It is emphasised that before the war there was no trouble in sorting out coloured and white cheese, and seeing that it reached the areas where it was required. This example of coloured cheese not reaching Scotland, but the south, is but one of a number of instances of what is occurring in the distribution of food in the United Kingdom. There have, for some time past, been complaints that the distribution of meat takes no account of the needs and individual preferences, and that varying local tastes are not being satisfied. Many traders agree that the root of this unbalanced or unsatisfactory distribution is the political conviction of the Labour Party of “fair shares for all ’’ To maintain the weekly rations of meat, butter and cheese, large stocks have been built up in warehouses. Distribution is influenced by time and convenience, rather than the varying tastes and the predelictions of different parts of the country. Members of the Labour Party in their public speeches, however, give no indication that they regard the system o£ rationing and “fair shares” as being other than the greatest good for the greatest number. .... A prominent member of the distribution trade has remarked: “Rationing and the present method of distribution served its purpose admirably during the war, and in the period ot acute shortages after the war. But now times have changed, and it seems a bleak outlook for the country if it is to be saddled with rigid controls for an indefinite period. The basis ot commercial sales is ‘the customer is always right.’ Nowadays it seems that the customer is merely lucky if he - gets what he likes."