POOLING SYSTEM.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 248, 1 August 1941, Page 8

POOLING SYSTEM.

THE SALE OF CHEESE CRATES (P.A.) WELLINGTON, July 31. From to-morrow the sale of cheese crates to dairy factories throughout the Dominion will be controlled through a central pool administered by the Dairy Board, as has been the case with butter boxes since 1936. This is provided for by the Butter Box and .Cheese Crate Pool Regulations, 1941, gazetted to-night. The principal reason for the application of the pool system to cheese crates is understood to be that with the continued depletion of supplies of suitable crate timber the discrepancies between the price charged for crates in different dairying districts has become more marked. The effect of pool control will be that whatever prices are paid by the pool to suppliers of crates, these will be made available to cheese factories throughout the Dominion at a uniform rate.

The regulations gazetted to-night do not state the prices which will be charged for butter boxes and cheese crates during the coming season. However, it is. understood that the Government has advised the Daii’y Board of its preparedness to accept'any loss incurred by maintaining the price of butter boxes at Is Hid, which is the same as last year, and by fixing the price of cheese crates at the average charged last year by makers, which will be approximately 2s 9d. (The prices are for supplies delivered at the factory in both cases). It is stated that without this undertaking by the Government, the hoard would have been compelled to fix charges at a higher level.