AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION IN DENMARK. 43 
shipped to Great Britain is consumed in the large industrial centers 
of middle and north England, three-fourths of the Danish bacon is 
distributed in south England and London. 
Danish bacon is exported to England regularly each week in the 
form of cured " Wiltshire ? ' cuts, sides with hams and shoulders 
attached. It is generally smoked by the English wholesalers before 
being distributed to the retailers. The average retailer is not 
equipped to smoke his bacon, but many of the large retail companies 
with a chain of stores operate their own smoke houses and these 
companies receive their bacon direct from the killing and curing 
plants in Denmark. Bacon is not stored in the Danish plants; as 
soon as the curing process is completed it is stacked and baled for 
immediate shipment. 
There are no middlemen in Denmark connected with the export 
of bacon from the cooperative plants. In the beginning of the 
bacon trade to England each cooperative plant sold its output 
through an English agent. While 28 cooperative plants practice 
this method, the other 18 plants sell through their own cooperative 
enterprise in Great Britain. 
PLANTS SELL INDEPENDENTLY THROUGH AGENTS IN GREAT BRITAIN. 
Three distinct steps are involved in marketing by cooperative 
plants in Great Britain: (1) The factory's representative or agent 
in Great Britain, (2) the British wholesaler, and (3) the British 
retailer. The cooperative plant which sells independently usually 
has one main agency in London and connections with agencies in 
smaller markets. These agents are usually Englishmen, although 
some of them are Danes who have lived in England for some years 
and are experienced in the British bacon trade. Some are old- 
established British bacon import agencies. They work directly for 
the Danish plants on a commission basis and keen competition 
exists among them. 
Each agent is responsible to the Danish plant, whose bacon output 
he sells to wholesalers. He not only endeavors to build up a first- 
class trade with high-class wholesale houses but constantly adver- 
tises Danish products to new customers. To acquaint the British 
housewife with the quality of Danish products that she may become 
a regular buyer of Danish products, is the chief advertising aim. 
These factors stimulate the demand which strengthens the prices 
of Danish bacon. The nature of the market competition between 
agents centers on the quality of the products and dependability of 
supply. Thus, the agent of the factory that delivers the bacon 
which best suits the trade demand, can not only command the 
highest prices but can sell through the best trade channels. 
Danish bacon distributed in London and south England, except 
that handled by the Danish Cooperative Bacon Trading Co., which 
is not a member of the exchange, is sold on the bacon exchange — The 
Home and Foreign Produce Exchange, Ltd., London. The agents 
representing the Danish cooperative bacon plants meet with the 
English wholesale trade daily on this exchange, although the prin- 
cipal market days are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The 
exchange issues an official market report on Fridays; the prices 
therein are a record of sales on Thursdays, and up to the time 
