COMMERCIAL

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24981, 16 September 1946, Page 6

COMMERCIAL

MIDLAND DAIRY COMPANY The season had been a disastrous one for the industry, because of the fact that practically every province in New Zealand showed a serious decline in production, §aid the chairman of directors of the Midland Co-operative Dairy Company (Mr R. Oakley), in his annual report presented at the annual rneeting of shareholders held at Ashburton on Friday. The firm s own loss in production had amounted to 161 tons or 15.4 per cent. While he was disappointed at some aspects of the position, he said that he felt a certain amount of satisfaction in that considerable progress and improvement in the affairs of the company had been ifiade, while at the same time a substantial proportion of the company’s debt had .been reduced. Mr Oakley appealed to all suppliers to milk the maximum number of cows to increase the tonnage. Uneconomic industries were being fostered largely at the expense of the primary producers, whose funds were pillaged to provide subsidies for the consuming public, said the chairman. He wished to make it clear that for the last few years the producer had been compelled to subsidise the consumer, and while the industry must accept the decision in previous years, it did not affect the principle that the subsidies in equity and justice should never have been drawn from the dairy farmers' own funds. A total of £1,000,000 from the Dairy Stabilisation account, and £400,000 from the Meat Stabilisation account was being paid out annually to keep the price of butter and meat respectively, down on the local market. Hides and skins were subject to an export levy of approximately 10s to 20s on every hide and from 5s to 7s 6d on every calf skin. A sum of nearly £500,000 was being held by the Marketing Department on this account. For the season under review, continued Mr Oakley, the Government had granted allowances to the industry totalling 4.315 d per lb of buter-fat. After advancing Is 6d per lb for finest grade butter-fat during the season, the directors recommended that a final payment fo 1.75 d per lb on butter-fat be made on all butterfat supplied during the season to suppliershareholders, non shareholder-suppliers to receive 4d per lb less in accordance with the memorandum of association. That payment included .017 d per lb on butterfat which was the balance of the farm costs allowance. It would bring the payment for the season to 19.75 d per lb for finest grade and 19.608 d per lb average over all grades. Negotiations had been in progress for some time to have the price of pig meats increased by 2d per lb, but up to the present <time no announcement had been made, he said. - Mr Oakley was re-elected chairman of directors, and Mr E. Macdonald, deputychairman.

MINING Blackwater Mines.—The return for the four-weekly period ended September 6 is crushed, 2013 tons of ore; gold recovery 552 fine ounces, with additional gold to be recovered from cyanide section of the reduction plant. Development work carried out during the period:—No. 16 level drive north was advanced 60 feet on reef averaging 13.86dwts. over a width of 27 inches. No. 16 level rise at 2180 N. was started and advanced 76 feet, of which 59 feet exposed reef averaging 10.59dwts over a width of 17 inches. No. 15 level winze at 2560 N. was advanced 15 feet on reef averaging 10.76dwts over a width of 26 inches.—(F.O.OLß.)