The Press MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 1974. Making decisions on wheat

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33426, 7 January 1974, Page 10

The Press MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 1974. Making decisions on wheat

Whether New Zealand should be self-sufficient m wheat production is not at present an issue of great moment Before Christmas, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (Mr Moyle) announced that New Zealand growers could confidently expect a substantial increase in the price of wheat for the 1974-75 season Mr Moyle obviously hopes that wheat production will be secured by an announcement later this month of the assured price. Production became a political issue last year when, as a result of several seasons during which growers received a low basic price, the Government found it necessary to import wheat from Australia at a landed price of $4 68 a bushel This was almost three times the price received by New Zealand growers. Mr Moyle said that he expected the final decision to be made bv the Cabinet late m January, and poured scorn on the performance of the previous National Government for its failure to create confidence among growers by fixing realistic base prices. Figures produced by the Ministry of Agriculture do not support his confidence m the immediate future of the industry. The Ministry, in its annual estimates of grain acreage, predicts that wheat of milling quality will be in short supply in the coming season and has said that a survey indicated a 25 to 30 per cent reduction in acreage. The Ministry predicted " that Hour millers’ demands will not be ‘ met from local production and (the acreage

” planted) virtually rules out the possibility of wheat “ for stock feed " It may still be argued that, because of expected surpluses of wheat in other countries, and because of the profitable alternative uses of land m New Zealand, the importing of milling wheat will be good business — and especially so if overseas prices fall as predicted. The confusion that has existed in the policies of successive Governments towards the wheat industry, and the problem of determining how far New Zealand should go to ensure its own supplies, can be attributed partly to a failure to define satisfactorily the responsibilities of the various Government departments concerned with the industry. The Minister of Trade and Industry is chairman of the New Zealand Wheat Board his department controls the basic price paid to growers. The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for agricultural policy: and his Ministry supervises all technical and production aspects of the wheat industry With the best will in the world between the two Ministers to work together — and this good will has not always been evident — there is inevitably a conflict between them over such fundamentals as basic price and forward planning. The grower is caught in the middle and the desirability of self-sufficiency will continue to be a matter for debate On balance, self-sufficiency is in the interests of the grower but, in most years, it is not in the interests of consumers When the administrative structure of the industry causes confusion, no-one’s interests are served The Government should consider whether the country is well served by such a division of responsibility between the two Ministers and their departments.