THE WHEAT BOARD

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 164, 24 April 1935, Page 5

THE WHEAT BOARD

£250,000 SURPLUS IN HAND.

PAYMENTS TO GROWERS.

ALLOCATIONS MADE TO-DAY.

(Special to the "Guardian.") DUNEDIN, April 23. Mr G. W. Clinkard (chairman of the Whtae Purchase Board) stated to-day that the board would hold a meeting in Christchurch to-morrow. The most important business will be the arranging of the allotments to be paid out to wheat-growers, in addition to the advanced payments already made to them.

The allotments relate' to the crops of last year. A substantial surplus is in the hands of the board some £250,000 —so that growers whose wheat was handled by the board and sold to millers should receive a considerable amount beyond what they have already been paid. Dealing with the wheat returns of the Dominion, Mr Clinkard said that the board entered the present season with a carry-over from the two previous seasons of 1,750,000 quarters of wheat. Had it not been for this surplus there would have been a national shortage of wheat, as the very dry weather experienced during the season just ending considerably reduced the yields. Notwithstanding that the board held the surplus named, it would not have any more than sufficient to meet requirements until next season's crops were available—that was, after adding to the surplus the wheat returns for this season. The position was really that the two fat wheat seasons- had enabled the board to meet the present lean season. Even if it were found necessary to import wheat from overseas, said Mr Clinkard, not a very large quantity would be required, and consequently not much money would have to be sent out of the country.

LOWER YIELD AND HIGHER SURPLUS.

CHRISTCHURCH, This Day

Between 6000 and 7000 wheat growers all oyer the Dominion will benefit through the payment which will be decided- on to-day by the Wheat Purchase Board. The big majority of these growers are in Canterbury. It is expected that because of the comparatively small crop last season and the much greater cash surplus in the hands of the board, the payment will be well above that for 1934. In that year the board decided to make a final payment of 6d a bushel on all the 1933 f.a.q. milling wheat sold to or through the board. The payment will probably be made within the next few weeks. The board last year had a surplus of more than £200,000 to distribute to the growers. The total handled for the yeax on which that payment was made was stated to be eight million bushels. This year there is a surplus of £250,000, and a lower yield on which to make the payment. Wheat growers will no doubt view the position with the greatest satisfaction, although it was expected that payments would be considerable, in view of the certainty that there would be no surplus for export and that the heavy, carry-over of wheat would be absorbed. The interim payment this year was based on 4s a bushel for Tuscan, f.0.b., against a payment of some pence lower for the previous year.