Payout pleases farmers

Press, 22 June 1981, Page 12

Payout pleases farmers

PA . Wellington Dairy farmers have welcoed an end-of-season payout by the Dairy Board of about $57 million. The board, the sole exporter of dairy products, said its surplus for the season which ended last month would.be about $l6B million. A little over half will go to the country's 15.200 dairy farmer-s in the annual end-of-season payout. The board's chairman. Mr Ken Mehrtens, said the average. payout, to the farmerowned dairy companies would: be 260 c. a kilogram of milkfat. “The board has not yet: finalised its accounts and it. is anticipated that the distri-

bution of 260 c a kilogram will represent a distribution of slightly more than 50 per cent of the surplus,” he said. In accordance with the Dairy Board's act. the Minister of Finance (Mr Muldoon) had given permission for a payment higher than 50 per cent. Dairy farmers last month received 'ah advance pay-’ ment of : 10c a kilogram to provide them with a muchneeded injection of cash, he said. Companies were paying out the pest. Interim payouts last month were, about $2B million. About $57 million has yet to be distributed. The acting chairman of Federated, Farmers’ dairy section, Mr Owen Jennings, said' farmers would , be

pledsed with the payout. He was concerned that' returns for dairy products could not be stretched to give farmers enough cash and to enable them to invest enough in the industry's big capital works programme. ”We are in the terrible position where gross returns are relatively good but production costs .are: rising above the rate of inflation by 7 or 8 per cent.” Farmers would therefore have to borrow heavily over the next few years to fund the 'industry’s capital development, he said. “The greatest confidence booster, the Government could give the industry would be to take a firm hand in controlling the rate of inflation.”