The Press THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1976. Wheat and the quality of bread

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34146, 6 May 1976, Page 16

The Press THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1976. Wheat and the quality of bread

The yields of wheat from this year’s harvest have generally been excellent, but the quality of the grain has left something to be desired. New Zealand wheatgrowers produced wheat in large enough quantities this season to satisfy the country’s requirements, but those who have to make an acceptable loaf of bread from flour of inferior quality have asked the Wheat Board to consider importing high quality wheat to enable them to maintain the quality of the bread. The bakers fear that if members of the public are sold an inferior product at an increased price they may buy less bread, and so threaten the bakers’ livelihood. The fear may be unnecessary. Without discounting the bakers’ difficulties in maintaining quality, it is probably true that few customers have noticed any serious deterioration in the quality of their bread. Even if the deterioration becomes noticeable, this is still not a good enough reason to spend overseas funds on importing wheat. Sacrifices must be made to bring New Zealand’s overseas payments back into balance and having to bear with a slightly lower quality of bread for a few months would be a minor sacrifice. A harvest that has prompted the bakers to call for imports when there is plenty of New Zealand wheat may not arise again for many years. Given slightly different weather the quality of the flour produced from wheat grown in New Zealand this vear would have been satisfactory. But if the indications are that New Zealand wheatgrowers are going to continue to produce enough wheat, the Government mav be well advised to hedge against the problem of quality by increasing the premium paid to fanners who sow varieties of wheat—notably Hilgendorf—which produce a lower yield but give grain of a higher quality. Had more Hilgendorf wheat been sown for this year’s harvest, the bakers would have less to complain about and the question of importing wheat not have arisen.