Mr. ROWLAND R. ROBBINS, C.B.E.; Mrs. MARGARET WINTRINGHAM, M.P., to be a Committee to enquire into the methods and costs of selling and distributing agricultural, horticultural and dairy produce in Great Britain, and to consider whether, and if so by The MARQUESS OF LINLITHGOW to be Chairman, and Mr. A. W. STREET, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, to be Secretary, and (i) Retailer buying from Wholesaler (iii) Retailer buying direct from Producer PREFACE. To the Right Hon. Sir ROBERT A. SANDERS, Bt., M.P., SIR, 1. We were appointed on December 11th last under the following terms of reference : "to enquire into the methods and costs of selling and distributing agricultural, horticultural, and dairy produce in Great Britain, and to consider whether, and if so, by what means, the disparity between the price received by the producer and that paid by the consumer can be diminished." 2. We have found it expedient to divide the subjects of our enquiry into four main categories, namely, (1) milk and milk products; (2) fruit and vegetables; (3) meat; and (4) cereals and bread, and to proceed with our investigations in the order named. 3. We now have the honour to submit a Report in respect of milk and milk products relative to which we have, to the date of this Report, held 25 meetings and heard evidence from 69 witnesses, representing producers, distributors and consumers throughout Great Britain and from various Government Departments. A list of these witnesses is printed at the end of this Report (see Appendix I.). The evidence itself, relating as it largely and necessarily does to intimate details of private and competitive businesses, has, for the most part, been furnished under an actual or implied promise of confidence and we are not, therefore, in a position to release it for publication. 4. In order to broaden and intensify the information derived from this source, we considered it desirable to ascertain the numerous links in the chain of distributive costs prevailing in different parts of the country, and, with the assistance of the trade organisations, we endeavoured to obtain these basic facts direct from original sources. With that end in view, some three thousand questionnaires were sent out to milk distributors. Copies of the forms employed are attached for information (see Appendices II. and III.). Between two and three hundred were returned complete in every detail. They may be regarded as representative, and, together with the large volume of authoritative oral evidence referred to, have proved sufficient for our purpose. A large number of returns were received giving The expenses incurred by the Committee in the preparation of this Report, including fees of shorthand-writer and the travelling expenses of members and witnesses, amount to £498 68. 2d. The cost of printing and publication is estimated at £80 10s. partial information, while many traders expressed their inability to comply with our request owing to the short time available or, more generally, to the fact that no books were kept from which the required particulars could be extracted. A summary of the completed returns (Table III.) relating to milk retailers is given on page 34. The returns received from Wales, as also those from milk wholesalers, were inadequate to justify summarisation or to serve as a reliable guide. 5. We desire to acknowledge our indebtedness to the producers', distributors' and consumers' organisations for their helpful co-operation throughout the course of our enquiry, and to those individual members of the milk trade who have assisted us by furnishing costings data. 6. We have not interpreted our terms of reference as requiring us to investigate the costs of production. Another aspect of the question, namely, the methods of milk distribution, viewed from the standpoint of hygiene and sanitation, was fully reviewed by the recent Committee under the chairmanship of Lord Astor* and we have only considered it in its bearing upon prices. In the main, therefore, we have confined ourselves to a study of the various processes involved in the distribution of milk to the consumer and the somewhat complicated price structure that results. Certain questions of wide application affecting the sale and distribution of agricultural produce generally have been reserved for considerations in a final Report. *1919, Cmd. No. 483. 19968 A 3 PART I. I.-MILK. INTRODUCTION. 7. The upward trend of wholesale and retail prices during the War period continued with little interruption until the winter of 1919-20, when peak prices were reached. A downward trend was inevitable, and this ensued immediately after decontrol in February, 1920. The diagram below shows the extent to which it has proceeded as regards London. Table I. gives the prices on which the diagram is based, and Table II. shows the average price paid to producers and by consumers in certain cities and towns in Great Britain in the years 1913 and 1922. (For Tables I. and II. see pages 7 to 11.) AVERAGE PRODUCER'S AND CONSUMER'S PRICE OF MILK IN LONDON, IN THE TEN YEARS 1913-1922. 8. The average retail price of milk in London for the twelve months ended 31st March, 1923, was about 75 per cent. above pre-war level. The average price received by farmers during the same period for milk carriage paid to London was approximately 20 10 |