WAR RICES FOR BUTTER.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 237, 4 October 1916, Page 4

WAR RICES FOR BUTTER.

ANOTHER ADVANCE WANTED.

DDE TO LONDON BATES.

Householders will be concerned to; learn .that there'is movement on foot i to again advance tneT price' of. .butter, j which, if agreed, to, *ill mean an increase iii the cost of "best factory-butter up to 1/10 per lb. jetaiL From a producer's point, of view: the "application for an advance is a sound one, because the. position is that \w£at is asked for i» equivalent to the price obtainable ior -export-to -Bondott ,-TAefc explaiiis-why a conference haa;been held in Wellington upon the question of the price of butter this week.. . . „ ■ • A deputation of; W*Hington business, men to , the Minister for Agriculture,; representing those concerned in the butter trade, .urged the.removal of the embargo on export; also; recognition of. an advance of.at'lcaet 2d per lb, to bring butter for the local market in line with the value for export. The Minister said he would refer the matter to the Board ; of Trade for fuller information. 'Inquiry -made- by~"a • representative, of the Auckland "Star" this..morning resulted in the following explanation "being received of the ..position., of. the butter market at the present time. New Zea- : land "butter in Xiohdon- is .now. worth. 201/ per.cTPt:, which works out at equal to 1/7 per lb. f.o.b. at |his end. The cost of distribution of butter on the local market is "ully one penny per pound', which". equals--1/8--per lb., the present Tβ" tail price in Auckland' of the best factory butter. Producers naturally want to get the best price. obtainable for their butter,, and naturally object to ecll on the local market at 1/6 -retail when an equivalent to 1/8 can be ,-gtt. for export. From a consumers' point of view, the position is that unless export te prohibited .the surplus, it will, mean the working man having to pay 1/10 per pound retail, which seems hard in a country 'where the article is pro- : . " : --The producers, are really. on.Velvet dur-. in<r thds war, as will be seen from the following figures.- For : the* export season; of 1913-14, before the ontbrcak of war, rthe wholesale price of butter was 1/Oi.per pound, .which.is equal.to.about .107/ per -.cwt. •f.o.'b., -The prices now offering for export "butter is" equal to 180/ -per cwt-i-an-advance of 73/ per cwt. which is really a surplus profit due to •the war. '. " The only remedy," remarked j one commercial gentleman, who was seen re-garding-the matter, "was for the Goyenjment to Tiav e put on an export tax. That would have kept the price down here, - and at the same time would not have increased the cost to the people at Home. The farmers could well have afforded to pay an export tax with the splendid prices obtainable for butter, but.it is quite a different thing to aek a man'to hand back as excess tax money already received. That always goes against the grain, .added to; which it will be difficult to trace all excess profit. The remedy the Government has at the present time is prohibition of export of butter, but that is always a troublesome matter to arrange, because we have a big surplus to send away, and the difficulty would be to apportion the output" amongst the different producers, the quantity they must sell in New Zealand at Jess price than could-be got for export. Had an export tax been put on butter, cheese, meat, and wool as soon jas war broke out, with the riae that has taken place in values during the last' two years a good deal of the coat of the , war «ould have been met, and the producers would etfll be getting better prices than before hoaxes teokrout