Price Rise Call To Hold Wheat Area

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30562, 3 October 1964, Page 14

Price Rise Call To Hold Wheat Area

The price of wheat to the grower would have to be raised by a shilling a bushel to maintain the existing acreage, and if the Government wanted a larger area it w’ould be necessary to pay more.

These views had been expressed at a meeting with several the chairman of United Wheatgrowers (N.Z.), Ltd., (Mr G. T. A. Ward), told the annual meeting of the electoral committee of United Wheatgrowers.

Mr Ward said the ministers had been told that the price paid would largely influence the area grown. It had been pointed out. that the area had fallen from 225,748 acres in 1962- to 204,000 acres in 1963The returns to date indicated a fall of 3.72 per cent in the area sown or intended to be sown this year. On this basis 200,000 acres was expected, which would be little. i different from last year. “Not Subsidised” Mr Ward said it had become necessary to say again that the New Zealand wheatgrower was not subsidised. “Reports in our papers on remarks made in Parliament might lead to this inference, although I have it from the Associate Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr Shelton) that he does not accept this view. The subsidy in the present year amounting to £5.7m is definitely a consumer’s subsidy on flour. The South Island grower is paid a basic price of 13s 6d a bushel for his wheat free on rail and it costs with brokerage added, 14s 9jd free on board. It is sold to millers at the highly-subsidised price of 4s 9jd a bushel f.0.b., and in broad terms the difference is the subsidy which is infused to keep the prices of flour and bread at low levels to con-

sinners. It would cost a little more to place Australian wheat at South Island mills. In these circumstances, it cannot be claimed that our wheatgrowers are subsidised.”

Crop Disposal Mr Ward said that the Government Statistician had. estimated that the most recent crop would yield 9.95 m bushels. In the South Island a shortage of wheat for Christchurch mills had been met by a transfer of surplus wheat from Southland. Beyond this the Wheat Committee had made arrangements for disposal of any remaining surplus wheat in Southland and Otago. Wheat graded as milling standard had been sold to North Island feed buyers under satisfactory disposal arrangements. Very little wheat now remained unsold and disposal of any wheat still left should be quickly accomplished. It was pleasing to report that early this month a shipment . of 910 tons of bulk wheat had been made from Bluff to one large feed wheat buyer in Auckland. This was the first bulk wheat shipped from the South Island and as such represented an important development. It seemed likely that this bulk shipment would be fol- ' lowed by others.