SUGAR PRICE

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30259, 11 October 1963, Page 16

SUGAR PRICE

Effect On Account (Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 10. While the London price for raw sugar stands at £BO a ton, its highest level since the beginning of July when toe sugar stabilisation scheme took effect in New Zealand, the stabilisation fund which is holding the retail price at lOd per pound stands at £1.642,035. The London price for raw sugar will have to fall below £44 9s a ton before this deficit, guaranteed by the Government in favour of the New Zealand Sugar Company, can be reduced. If this sugar price equalisation account reaches £2,500,000 the agreement between the Government and the company provides for a review, which would probably mean an increase in the stabilised price. Otherwise, the agreement could continue until the end of June before there is a review.

The raw sugar price reached its lowest level this year at the end of August. It was then £5l 10s a ton. A world price of £44 9s a ton, and a landed cost in New Zealand of £49 15s, would permit a retail price of lOd per pound without drawing on the stabilisation account.

Since August, the current London price and the forward prices for future purchases have steadily risen until last week the current price for raw sugar quoted by the London United Sugar Terminal Association was £69 a ton.

While the present price of £BO a ton continues, the stabilisation account is likely to grow at the rate of more than £BO.OOO a week. The £2,500,000 limit to the stabilisation account would be reached in less than three months. The average rate of sugar consumption in New Zealand is 2300 tons a week. Officials in Wellington earlier regarded September as a critical month for the determination of the sugar price in view of the results of the beet susar crop becoming known. The Cuban hurricane losses have emphasised the apparent deficiencies in this crop after a harsh season.