THE WHEAT PRICE

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24624, 21 July 1945, Page 2

THE WHEAT PRICE

* AREA REQUIREMENT I DEFENDED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, July 20. The wheat price was discussed by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) in the House of Representatives to-day. Mr Sullivan said, that when he returned to New Zealand this year, representations were made to him for a straight-out flat rate of 7s Id a bushel. He discussed this with the Stabilisation Commission .and the Price Tribunal. He took a favourable attitude to the difficulties of wheatgrowers, but because of complications over prices fixed for other comfnodities, it was undesirable to disturb the basic price of 6s 6d. However, the scheme was improved from the wheatgrowers’ angle by laying down that a price of 7s Id would be reached not at 250,000 acres, but at Hftft Qprpc Mr Sullivan said that it was not true, as some members had said, that Id bonus for every 5000 acres more than 200,000 acres was a penalty. Actually it was the reverse, and was accepted by the wheatgrowers as satisfactory. He quoted statements made to this effect last December. Recently there had been bad weather in Canterbury, and many hopes that he had had about spring sowing had deteriorated considerably as a result. He knew that the wheatgrowers had difficult time% and he always had a great deal of sympathy for them. The Government had done a great deal for the wheatgrowers, and he acknowledged the fine effort of the wheatgrowers during the war.