ON AGRICULTURE TO DENMARK 133 



Mr Adolf, who is unconnected with the trade, making nine members 

 in all, this Committee meets every Thursday to fix the quotation 

 for the current week. The duty is a critical one, designed to 

 obviate competitive price-cutting among the creameries, and to 

 give the farmers the assurance of a fair and uniform price for 

 their produce. The practice of the Committee, as explained by 

 Mr Adolf, is to take the actual prices in the two principal countries 

 of sale, Britain and Germany, and to correct these by what is 

 termed " the feeling of the market." Consideration is also given 

 to official and private reports as to the relation of supply and 

 demand in the various markets. When the Committee has arrived 

 at its decision, the Quotation is immediately published in the news- 

 papers along with a statement of the Quotations issued in the 

 corresponding weeks and months for a series of past years. Such 

 a system is not easily carried to perfection. At the time of the 

 visit of the Scottish Commission the complaint was rife that 

 goods were sold at a price above the quotation, some buyerfe being 

 willing to give better terms for butter in the enjoyment of a 

 reputation for peculiar delicacy of flavour or other quality, just 

 as higher prices are paid for wines of a special bouquet. This 

 appearance of preference, it will be readily understood, spread 

 dissatisfaction among the farmei-s whose butter was produced in 

 conditions practically alike. They held that the Quotation was 

 about 3 1 kroner too low for the 100 Danish pounds of butter. 

 The Committee was then grappling with the difficulty, and 

 looked forward to a time when it would be justified in adding 

 the existing over-price to the Quotation. The time came on 

 January 1st 1905, an arrangement taking effect on that date 

 whereby five kroner were added to the Quotation and the over 

 price cancelled. It appears that the Quotation directly serves 

 two business purposes : it is used by buyers in Britain, Germany, 

 Sweden and Norway for their general guidance in placing orders ; 

 and it is the basis on which the price paid to the farmers for their 

 milk is computed. But its effect also descends to the consumer. 

 By the publicity given to the Quotation the butter trade is con- 

 ducted, as it were, with the cards on the table. The retail dealer 

 in Britahi knows approximately what price the importer has paid 

 to the warehousemen in Denmark. Hence both exporter and 

 wholesale importer are obliged to trade on a very small margin 

 of profit, the maximum advantage going to the associated farmer 

 and the consumer. 



The following table shows the variations of the Quotation over 

 a period of nine months. The price in Danish currency is for 

 100 Danish pounds weight ; the price in British money is per 

 cwt. of 112 lbs. avoirdupois. The quotations are free on board 

 at Copenhagen : — 



