PRODUCE PRICES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVII, Issue 10744, 15 October 1926, Page 2

PRODUCE PRICES

POLICY OF THE BOARD.

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER

(Per Press Association.) NEW PLYMOUTH, October 14. “I never have been in favour of fixation: of dairy produce prices in London, neither has the Control Board, said the Hon. 0. J. Hawken, when interviewed to-night. “The attitude the board takes up is simply this: ihat seeing they are representing the owners of the produce in London, the board have the right to say at what price the butter should be sold from" day to day or week to week. This is not pi ice fixation in the way it has been interpreted by the opponents of the board. It is simply exercising the usual privileges. There is no foundation! for the statement tha« the board will fix the price for any definite period, but the board is simply taking the -art of the owner in London and looking after his interests on the spot. 1 never have agreed that factories throughout New Zealand, seeing that they are so far away from the base of operations, should put fixed reserves on their produce, because they are not m a good position to judge the state of the market. The test of dairy control will be the comparative prices received for Neiv Zealand produce as compared with Danish and other butter and Canadian cheese, and that test must extend over a reasonable period before results can be appreciated. It is not the price, but the comparative price, that win be the test, because prices as a whole depend on demand and supply, which can be little influenced by any boards.