WHEAT DUTIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 197, 21 August 1929, Page 7

WHEAT DUTIES.

INQUIRY OPENED. PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE. 1 i I CONDITIONS IN CANTERBURY EVIDENCE BY MR. COCKAYNE. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. The first public meeting of the special Select Committee of the House of Representatives, set up to consider the wheat duties, was held in Parliament Buildings to-day. Evidence was tendered by representatives of the Customs Department, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Industries and Commerce. The Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. G. W. Forbes, said the committee had an important duty to perform, as all sections of the community were vitally affected, and he thought the information submitted to the committee would be of immense benefit. It was desired that all sides of the case' should be heard. There had been some feeling in regard to the price of bread, and it was possible the evidence given would clear that up. How Duties are Fixed. The Controller-General of Customs said that for the purpose of fixing the duty on wheat the current domestic value was taken into consideration, and 5/0 per bushel was taken as the base. If the value was •">/'> per bushed the duty was 1/3 per bushel, and it rose or fell'by one halfpenny a bushel for every halfpenny by which the value rose or fell. The current domestic value also governed the duty on flour. The base was £13 10/ per ton, the duty of £3 10/ per ton rising or falling by one shilling a ton for .every shilling by which the value rose or fell. In 192S the average duty was £2 10/ per ton, and for the first six months of this year it was £2 19/7. The duty on wheat in 1928 was 1/3. and for the first six months of this year it was 1/ss. Mr. A. H. Cockayne, assistant-Director of Agriculture, gave as one reason why wheat-growing had become unpopular that the farmer found other forms of farming pursuits more profitable. Owing to peculiar conditions obtaining in Canterbury it was essential that the Canterbury farmer should grow wheat irrespective of any other consideration, fiscal or otherwise. To Mr. J. McCombs, M.P. (Lyttelton): ! If the price of wheat were exceedingly low it would still be necessary for the Canterbury farmer to grow a certain quantity of wheat. One would not view the wheat position with so much apprehension were it not for the fact that the oat crop of Canterbury was definitely on the decline. He agreed that wheat-growing dovetailed in with stock arising. There was a general tendency for the average yields to increase. The weather conditions of the past few years had been a factor. Other factors had been the increased use of manures and phosphate. Mr. D. Jones, M.P. (Mid-Canterbury) asked what effect a stabilised or reasonable price would have upon, the production of wheat. Mr. Cockayne: I don't know whether that is a policy point or not, but I would say this, that if the farmer was not terribly scared of low prices he would be more inclined to grow wheat.