Price for wheat seen as insult

Press, 23 August 1979, Page 2

Price for wheat seen as insult

PA Wellington The Labour spokesman on agriculture (Sir Basil Arthur) was angry yesterday that the Government offered wheatgrowers an increase of only $3 a tonne.

The increase would enrage every wheatgrower in New Zealand. he said. It amounted to "nothing more than a blatant insult.” The Government announced on Tuesday that the price would rise from $137 to $l4O a tonne for the 1980 harvest.

“I repeat my earlier assertion that unless a further $lO a tonne is granted, many growers who normally plant spring wheat in September, or even October, will grow barley or other crops,” said Sir Basil. “With a spiralling price being paid for wheat on world markets, and the prospect of having to pay up to $lBO to $2OO a tonne for wheat from Australia, it is false economics for the Government to adopt a miserly attitude to New Zealand wheatgrowers,” he said. Present indications are that the total wheat acreage in Mid-Canterbury will be on a par with that harvested in the 1978-79 season.

According to a survey by the Ashburton office of the Ministry of Agriculture, about 21,043 ha of wheat wil be sown this year, compared with 21,010 ha harvested in the last season.

Once again Kopara is easily the most popular variety, with 109 growers of 200 in the survey planting a total of 3466 ha. Last season the same farmers grew 3048 ha of Kopara. The areas expected to be grown in each wheat variety with the last year’s harvested areas in parenthesis, are.— Aotea, 122 ha (279); Arawa, 564 (553); Hilgendorf, 1225 (958); Kopara, 3466 (3049); Karamu, 650 (1337); Rongotea, 245 (18); Oroua, 100 (16); Takahe 177 (236); Gamenya, 434 (556); and Durum 83 (nil).