Milk price up, but suppliers want more

Press, 7 April 1978, Page 3

Milk price up, but suppliers want more

PA Wellington Milk supplies could be (threatened by the Government’s refusal to approve a (2.5 c a litre increase in the ' price paid to farmers, said (the secretary of the Town Milk Producers’ Federation (Mr B. G. Neilson) yesterday. Many town-supply farmers were thinking of quitting because of the drought, and ! the Government’s approval of a 0.75 c a litre rise would do little to change their thinking, he said. Consumer milk prices will rise by 1c a 600 ml bottle to 10c from May 1, it was announced by the Associate Minister of Agriculture (Mr Bolger) yesterday. “Many farmers are thinking twice about continuing as town-milk suppliers,” Mr Neilson said. “There are parts of the country where it would not take much for them to decide to get out.” Town suppliers had a commitment to supply milk j the year round but dairy-fac-tory suppliers did not have the same requirement. Town suppliers could easily switch to become dairyfactory suppliers only. Mr Neilson said the federation was most disappointed that the Government had not approved its application for a 2.5 c a litre rise. The application had been made to restore a relativity between town milk suppliers and suppliers to dairy factories. There was no avenue of appeal open to it as the

(Minister of Agriculture was the sole price authority (under the present legislation. The federation would put a proposal to the Government that future applications for price rises be considered by the Milk Prices Authority. Mr Bolger said, when announcing the increases, that the taxpayer was subsidising consumer milk prices by S4OM a year. It had been decided to recover the latest farmer price increase through the consumer price.

The increase in the farm price would be effective from September 1 last year. It would cost S4M a year although, because of the back-dating, it would cost S6M in the present financial year. “Town-milk farmers are obliged to guarantee a minimum daily supply of milk on a year-round basis and as a result incur additional costs in producing, what is, in effect, out-of-season milk,” Mr Bolger said. The consumer price increase was criticised by the Campaign Against Rising Prices.

A C.A.R.P. spokesman, Mrs C. Kelly, said milk was a basic family food and had now risen by 150 per cent since the Government came into office. Each of the three increases in price had been preceded by Government assurances that the price would be held. Milk sales had been falling sharply, and the families of working people would once again be the hardest! hit, Mrs Kelly said.