DAIRY CONTROL

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 70, 24 March 1926, Page 4

DAIRY CONTROL

THE FINANCE ISSUE. AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT. (By Telegraph.—rress Association.) WELLINGTON, Tuesday. Interviewed to-day Mr. W. Grounds, chairman of the Dairy Board, said that several incorrect reports of statements regarding the method of finance to be pursued under the board's scheme of control having been wjlely published and used as a basis of criticism of the Dairy Board's policy, he desired to give the following outline of the general procedure to be adopted:—(l) The whole of the present ehannls of distribution are to be used; (2) the allocations of produce are being made to differnt importing houses based upon the average quantity handled by each during the past three years; (3) the finance of this produce will be arranged by letters of credit which will be established in the name of the board in New Zealand by each importer to an amount to cover allocations made, exactly the same method as now pursued; (4) there advances will be immediately available for advances to factories at their local branch bank just as at present exchanges are being handled by each bank; (5) advances will be made available against store warrants just as at present; (6) advances will be made on the present percentage basis ot estimated values; (T) the more stabilised position which will be attained by the board's policy of regularisation of despatch should make it easier to accurately estimate final realisations; (S) sale results will be cabled from London frequently and regularly so that further progress or final payments may be made to companies as soon as possible after ■sales have been made. It will therefore be seen that no new scheme of finance is contemplated but that the business will be -conducted on similar lines to our present consignment business. As the system proposed exactly follows lines so long associated with, the business banking authorities with whom the matter has been discussed, approve of the procedure outlined. The board's policy in brief simply means taking existing machinery as it stands and applying all the features that have been proved by experience with one new feature that some supervision of supplies to the market and sales upon the market will be exercised on behalf of the producers, with the board having the right to transfer produce from one distrbutor to another if it is found that any one distributor has not an effective outlet in harmony with the allocation of produce made. ANOTHER VIEWPOINT. TOOLEY STKEET SPEAKS. Discussing the financial aspect of the Dairy Control Board's policy with a "Star" representative to-day, a lead-, ing produce importer stated that despite the chairman's protestations to the contrary, the board was in trouble over finance. " What," said he, "is tie first consideration with a private organisation when arranging- a business undertaking?" " Finance." " But the Control Board seems to have left this issue to the last and the position must now be, to say the least, embarrassing. Only a few days ago ■the Tooley Street merchants held a conference to consider the proposals of the New Zealand Dairy Control Board, and it was definitely decided not to issue letters of credit in the name of the board but the members of the conference were quite willing to do so in the names of factories or of the factories' recognised agents as had been the ease in the past. " This position was known te Mr. Grounds when he made his statement in Wellington yesterday, and to mc it is amazing that he should have ventured to mislead the public as he has done in clause three of the statement."