PRICE OF MILK

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21729, 11 March 1936, Page 17

PRICE OF MILK

TO THE EDITOR OV TUB PBBSS. Sir,—"Producer" is quite right, it does not lie in the power of the Christchurch Dairymen's Association to maintain a satisfactory stable price for milk, nor is it proper that it should do so. It should have a price fixed for it by the authority of the State, just as the wheat growers have, only it is easier to fix the price of milk, because there is no export surplus to deal with. There is no obstacle to the immediate operation of such a fixed price; it is just like an award for wages (the price of services). The Labour Government can hardly refuse this just demand. It must be noted that this fixed price is not a "guaranteed price." Simply, as arbiter between producer and consumer, the Government authorises a price and sees that it is observed, and likewise decides the remuneration of the distributor.

As to determining prices, I maintain, as I have suggested before, that it is the proper function of the Arbitration Court, a court of economic justice. Poultry farmers should also have a fixed minimum and maximum for their eggs, with prohibition of the importation of egg products, but an export control board would be necessary. Potatoes also should be subject to a maximum and minimum price, and oats, barley, and grass seeds should at least be protected by an embargo.— Yours, etc., J.M.W. March 10, 1936.