Call to lift grain bar

Press, 6 October 1980, Page 10

Call to lift grain bar

A call for the Government to allow the free marketing of feed grains has been made by the executive of North Canterbury Federated Farmers’ agriculture section. The move comes after the decision of the Cereal Grains Advisory Committee to postpone the allocation o f export licences for feed grains until November.

Mr W. J. Thompson (Motukarara) said the committee had created the ridiculous situation where farmers who were members of a country which depended to a very large degree on revenue from exported primary produce w’ere not allowed to export. The advisory committee, which was established to help the Government,- had done nothing except suppress the prices of feed grains, he said.

Some members of the committee were involved in either the selling of grains or the manufacture of feed from the grains ■ and these members had been protecting their own interests. Just because the grain compounders and other users had not decided on their requirements for the coming season, a ban had been put on exports. Mr Thompson is a director of the recently established South Island Export Barley Societv, a group established by farmers for the pooling and exporting of harlev crops.

Another director, Mr J. K. Lay (Irwell), told the meeting that crop contracts were still being signed for the new society. There had been a reduction in the size of the expected crop .because the recent dry weather had inhibited planting. However, there was still enough contracted.

-The society’s second pool would have a payment between $l5O and $l6O a tdfine, he said. ' ■ The chairman of the section, Mr F. A. Bull, said the comrhittee was holding cereal farmers to ransom. Export prospects were very good but nothing could be done until local users had determined their requirements and that was when export licences would be issued. Mr K. M. Wells (Oxford)

said farmers had seen “nothing sound from .the committee. It could easily be dismantled and a free'market (for grains) established. While the committee exists it. can be used by the compounders,” he said. A motion that Federated Farmers call for the dismantling of the committee was replaced by an amendment calling on the Government to allow free marketing of feed grains and demanding ■ the immediate granting of export rights for growers. The second motion was narrowly passed, 11 voting for the amendment and 10 for the motion. Mr N. Q. Wright (Sheffield), who is president of the national executive of the agriculture section of Federated Farmers, and a member of the Cereal Grains

Advisory Committee, said at the last "meeting of the committee, when the decision on export licences was deferred until November, that there was a firm indication local needs would be known before the next committee meeting. He said the Government could easily override the committee and allow grain exports. Local users had indicated they could not determine their needs for the coming season because they did not have enough knowledge of the potential area planted. Yesterday’s meeting resolved to call on the. national headquarters of Federated Farmevs to attempt to get free marketing and also decided to approach the Director-General of Agriculture (Mr M. L. Cameron).