POTATO CROP

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24292, 5 June 1942, Page 4

POTATO CROP

AIM OF 25,000 ACRES ASSURING REGULAR SUPPLY (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday The aim of a potato crop of 20,000 to 25,000 acres for the Dominion next season was announced by the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. J. G. Barclay, at a conference of South Island potato-growers to-day. The prices of seed potatoes announced and approved by the growers were: Uncertified seed: Aucklanders, £8 5s a ton; Dakotaa and other varieties, £7 15s; special imported potatoes under trial, £l3. Certified seed: Aucklanders, Suttons, King Edwards and other fancy varieties of mother seed, £l2; commercial, £lO 10s; Dakotas and other mother seed, £10; commercial, £8 15s. Lower grade seed potatoes had been reduced from two ounces to one and a-half ounces. Premiums, subject to arrangement by growers and merchants, would be paid for special hand-picked seed potatoes. Army and Civil Needs The necessity for regular supplies of potatoes for the Army and civilian requirements was emphasised hv Mr. Barclay, who warned growers that if a response was not made further regulations would have to be introduced, as the situation was serious. Increments in price for deliveries later than May and June were discussed. An increment of 10s for July and 15s for each of the following months was suggested, but the Minister said increases on offer would be discussed with the advisory potato committee, on which the growers' representatives will be Messrs. P. F. Ryan, L. A. Campion and W. J. Fletcher, all of Canterbury, and one Southland representative yet to be appointed. The Minister emphasised that it was the Government's responsibility to see that vegetables were grown. There was no question of over-production this year, and already the South Island, which produced 70,000 tons on a basis of 6.3 tons an acre, held 40,000 tons for consumption, 25,000 of which would go to the North Island. No Indication of Price The Minister would give no indication of next season's price, saying that this season's price would be a liberal one. The question of Government dealings in potatoes being raised, Mr. Barclay said he understood the Government had been forced to do something when there was a glut. He did not know whether it had done too little. Two most difficult jobs in the country to-day were pricefixation and marketing. The Price Tribunal and the Internal Marketing Department were doing a great job. Mr. A. Anderson, of Southbridge, said the Marketing Department had been fooling with the potato situation for years. The Minister: Only at the request of the growers. "And nothing satisfactory has been done, in my opinion," continued Mr. Anderson. "The Marketing Department should be given its running shoes and the handling given to the Department of Agriculture." INSPECTORS' TRANSFER INCOME TAX WORK OVER-CENTRALISATION ALLEGED The transfer to Wellington for the duration of the war of six of the seven income tax inspectors until recently stationed at Auckland, and the excessive centralisation of Land and Income Tax Department activities, was the subject of a memorandum from Dr. H. A. Cunningham, presented to yesterday's meeting of the council of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. The aid which the inspectors, with their intimate knowledge of the methods of assessment of taxation, were able to give taxpayers, was outlined at length by Dr. Cunningham. The new methods of arriving at the tax were almost unintelligible to the layman, he said; in fact, many accountants and lawyers found the utmost difficulty in interpreting them. In the matter of clearances for overseas passengers also, local officials could be very helpful. It seemed fairly obvious that the assistance which the inspectors were able to give in coping with the work in the department at Wellington would be more than offset by the extra work which would have to be done there by reason of their transfer. Novel experiments in taxation legislation introduced during recent years had created more anomalies than they had cured, said Dr. Cunningham, and he considered that they should be discontinued during the war. A useful suggestion made in Dr. Cunningham's memorandum was that the registration fee under the Social Security Act should be payable in one sum of £1 annually instead of by quarterly instalments of ss. It was held that this would occasion no hardship, and it would effect great economies in the work of the department. VEGETABLE FARMS SCHEME AT PUKEKOHE An additional 1071 acres are to be used for the cultivation of vegetables under the Pukekohe growers' scheme. Twenty-two growers control an aggregate of 851 acres and the remaining 220 acres will be cultivated by 138 producers. Crops will bo sueprvised and output checked by an officer of the Department of Agriculture, but the responsibility for the allocation of crops as to quantity, variety and times of supply will be undertaken by the committee of growers or its representatives. The procedure which the Government has sanctioned is that the contract for extra supplies will be let to the production committee, and every grower who wishes to participate must be prepared to contract through the committee. The produce will be disposed of on behalf of the committee by the merchants. INCOMES OVER £20,000 (0.C.) WELLINGTON, Thursday The latest issue of the Abstract of Statistics in its figures of incomes of individuals for the income tax year, 1910-41, states that there were five taxpayers with a total assessable income of £20,000 and more. There were 16 whose assessable incomes ranged from £IO,OOO to £20,000. The largest income categories are, however, the £2OO-£3OO and £3OO-£4OO classes whose aggregate assessable income amounted to 57 per cent of the total assessable income and included 74.6 per cent of the returns. The percentage of exemptions in these classes is very high with the result that the taxable balance comprised only 23.4 per cent of the total and tax assessed amounted to only 16.6 per cent of the total tax assessed. WORKERS' HOLIDAY CAMP . The second week-end holiday camp for war workers is to he held at Mairangi Bay to-morrow and on Sunday. Since the first one was held a few weeks ago, the Physical Welfare and Recreation Branch of the Internal Affairs Department has received many requests for further such camps, and this weekend's has been arranged for all the employees of a large boot manufacturing concern which is occupied with war orders. The firm is bearing the whole cost of the camp. A visit will he paid during the week-end by the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry, and the administrative head of the Physical Welfare Branch, Mr. A. G. Harper. It is proposed that holiday week-ends of this nature will bo con£b.«od throughout tfc© year.