Wheat price raised

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33933, 28 August 1975, Page 2

Wheat price raised

The (Government has belatedly increased the basic price for millingstandard wheat harvested next summer by almost 8 per cent —from £95.54 a tonne (82.60 a bushel) to $102.88 a tonne I $2.80 a bushel 1.

This was announced yesterday by the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr Freer), who said that the recent bad weather had affected sowings and that the Government had decided to seek an increase in spring sowings. However, earlier reports i indicated that sowings this) I year , were likely to be very much higher than last year — about 50 to 80 per cent — but some of the more recent sowings in Canterbury may have been “drowned, out” in last week’s storm. , The chairman of the Do-! minion agriculture section of Federated Farmers (Mr A. L. Mulholland) said last evenI ing that while the new price ifell well short of the price sought by growers at the ' end of last year — $l2B a tonne or $3.50 a bushel — the Government had made a concession in reviewing and increasing the price pre- 1 viously announced. “Still time’’ There was still time to sow more wheat, particularly in Southland, said Mr Mulholland, and with the; availability of Karamu as an alternative variety for spring | isowing it was possible that] some significant increase inj, the area sown to wheat; i might yet occur. From the latest figures! available, it appeared that!, the Australian wheat price! had risen to about $lBO per tonne c.i.f., New Zealand, Mr Mulholland said. No doubt ! this had some influence on 1 the Government’s decision. j Price push |. ' The recent moves of countries, such as Russia, in buy-', ing wheat had had a big im-h pact on world wheat prices. , But growers would still be' faced with heavy production ■; costs, and devaluation would ; have an effect on this. j Mr Mulholland said that;, growers had always shown a,, responsible attitude when j negotiating wheat prices, t and had never attempted to ( obtain world parity in recent < times, when up to $l6O a J tonne c.i.f. New Zealand had! been reached. ( However, the latest an-ij nouncement would be wel- ; j corned by farmers, as itjg nroved that_their efforts tolj

j reach a realistic price had not been completely unsuccessful. Dear imports? According to the Press Association, Mr J. H. Mitchell, chairman of the ■wheatgrowers’ sub-section of Federated Farmers, and Mr Mulholland said in a joint statement that although increased sowings might take place if ground and weather conditions improved, it was doubtful whether the increase in the price had come in time to allow growers to sow enough wheat for New Zealand’s requirements. New Zealand might still have to buy dear Australian • wheat next year with precious foreign exchange.