Govt rejects wheat price incentive plea

Press, 19 August 1978, Page 22

Govt rejects wheat price incentive plea

The Government has turned down Federated Farmers’ request to adjust the 10 per cent discount on next year’s Karamu wheat to encourage sowing this spring. The chairman of the dominion agriculture section of the federation (Mr A. L. Mulholland) said the request had been made because wet winter weather had prevented sowing and had killed wheat that had been sown. At this stage of the season, Karamu was the only variety that could still be sown. “I hope that after the wheat crop is harvested we are not able to turn round and say to the Government, ‘We told you so’,” he said. At present prices it would cost about $2OO a tonne to land Australian wheat in New Zealand to make up a shortfall in production from the last harvest. With the discount off, the price of Karamu harvested next year would be $114.75 per tonne. Taking into account the high cost of freight to the North Island, there was probably not much difference be-

tween the cost of Australian and South Island wheat landed in the north. The New Zealand wheat saved overseas funds, however. Mr Mulholland said that extra wheat might be sown because of reduced opportunies to grow alternative crops. For example, Fletcher Agriculture would not buy any linseed from farmers next season — they would have to grow it on the free market if they wished to — and the firm was also reducing its purchases of rape seed. J. Wattie Canneries, Ltd,

had reduced Its freezer-pea contracts and Mr Mulholland said he believed barley contracts had already been filled. The federation had not asked for the complete removal of the discount on Karamu. He had recently suggested to the Department of Trade and Industry that wheats with a baking score of 38 or more should be paid for at the basic price; wheats with a 34 to 38 score at a 5 per cent discount: and wheats with 30 to 34 scores at the full 10 per cent discount.