BAKER’S CRITICISM OF DISCOUNT ON ARAWA

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28829, 25 February 1959, Page 20

BAKER’S CRITICISM OF DISCOUNT ON ARAWA

“The decision of the Wheat Committee to discount Arawa by 2d per bushel is a slap in the face to the baking industry,” said Mr W. McCutcheon, of Dunedin, in a paper Which was read to the conference of the New. Zealand Federation Of Master Bakers and Pastrycooks at Queenstown.

Mr McCutcheon criticised the Wheat Research Committee, which he said had made a blunder in releasing Arawa because he contended it had always been the policy of the committee not to release any new varieties of wheat unless they were equal to, or better than, Cross 7, a wheat which, according to the director of the Wheat Research Institute (Mr E. W. Hullett), was as good as ever it was.

The federation had always opposed the release of Arawa for milling and at the time of release accepted the position under protest, he said. Now that it was obvious by the baking samples test that the quality was unsatisfactory the federation considered that the line should be discouraged and every effort made to supplant it speedily with Aotea in the interest of a good commercial loaf.

. “The farmer cannot justify low yield or low monetary return an acre in demanding the release of high yielding poor quality baking wheats.” Mr McCutcheon said. “Gift” to Farmers

Having made the blunder in releasing Arawa, the Wheat Research Committee had approached the Wheat Committee in December to discount the wheat by 6d a bushel—a sum totally inadequate to discourage the farmer from growing the wheat, he said. The increase to the farmer of 2s a bushel in the price of wheat made last February had been looked on by the baking industry as an encouragement to the farmer to grow more wheat, he said, but under the old price of Us 8d per bushel it would have still paid the farmer to grow wheat rather than sheep.

The decision of the Wheat Committee to discount Arawa by only 2d per bushel and not to discount it down to the level of return an acre equal to Cross 7 meant a gift by the Wheat Committee and the Government to

wheat farmers of approximately £1,100,000 if 90,000 acres were harvested, he said. In overseas countries the millers controlled the quality of flour, Mr McCutcheon said. This was because they were in keen competition with each other, bought the best quality wheat it was possible to procure, and told the farmer or the brokers what lines of wheat they wanted. The farmer then had to grow the wheat there was a market for and not what he thought the mills ought to - take. In New Zealand the farmer grew the wheat that would give him the highest return' an acre, which governed the quality of the flour the millers could produce. The quota system and rigid price controls of the milling industry gave millers little incentive to better their product and seek new business, leading to complacency with regard to quality, and the Wheat Committee was apparently unable or unwilling to control the farmers with regard to wheat quality, he said;