Wheatgrowers find champion in Minister

Press, 21 February 1987, Page 2

Wheatgrowers find champion in Minister

By

HUGH STRINGLEMAN,

farm editor

Wheatgrowers . have found a champion in the Minister of Customs, Mrs Shields, who believes the “real price” of New Zealand wheat should be higher. Customs Department inquiries had established that Australian wheat had a dumping-subsidisation influence of $4O a tonne, Mrs Shields said in releasing an impounded Australian cargqof 5335 .fopnes to North-Island millers. ;This:, Wfis. .S’ to milterS;; that ;thiS was the kind of charge they Would face oft future importations, Mrs Shields

said yesterday. f . Local mills ought therefore to be considering paying growers $4O a tonne more in New Zealand, now that the “real price” had been estabpshed. : ’ At present, mills are offering prices based on a Weekly indicator which is itself tS?MW the Australian -standard quotation. ~ . The chairman-of united ■ Wheatgrowers; ’ Mr ’ Mefvyn Gray, said yesterday he was pleased that the Customs Department had established a $4O a tonne dumping or subsidisation component on the Australian wheat. He now wanted' local mills to pay that much more for New Zealand wheat. Millers had been grossly underpaying New Zealand growers, he said,

and current offers of $l7O a tonne were totally unacceptable.

However, the manager of one of New Zealand’s biggest milling groups, Mr Peter Allport, of Cereal Foods, said he was not going to raise his buying prices $4O a tonne. “The imported price hasn’t risen yet and even if it did, we wouldn’t necesarily raise local prices,” he said.

Cereal Foods was investigating Mrs Shields* assertion that Australian wheathada subsidy-com-., ponent equal to ,$4O ,p,

Cereal Foods would have to start importing very soon,