PRICE LEVEL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 261, 3 November 1932, Page 3

PRICE LEVEL.

NEW ZEALAND'S POSITION. WORSE THAN THAT OF BRITAIN. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. In his presidential address to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Employers' Federation to-day, Mr. A. C. Mitchell said that in the matter of price level New Zealand was in a much worse position than Great Britain. Taking the price level of the years 192829 as 100 he found that the British price level was down to 67 sterling, 47.5 gold, but the New Zealand price level was down to 48 eterling and 34 gold. In terms of New Zealand pounds it was 53. Mr. Mitchell gave figures to show that farmers' costs, like other costs, must be reduced. While export prices were 21 per cent below the 1914 level, retail prices were still approximately 31 per cent above the 1914 level. However, there was a definite downward move of retail prices, since the level above 1914 ■was 56 per cent in 1930, 44 in 1931, and wae now down to 31. The disparity between export and retail prices had the effect of stagnating internal trade and there was a necessity for employers to apply themselves still further to the prblome of reducing internal costs.