WHEAT AND FLOUR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 58, 1 December 1917, Page 14

WHEAT AND FLOUR

A SERIOUS POSITION

MILLS THREATEN TO CLOSE DOWN

Local grain and flour merclmii . ornithine 10 emphasise the extreme sei iousness of the situation respect-nr wheat and flour (and the by-product., which has arisen as the result of t!•■ fixing of the price and the restrict-in. of importation, which are the reason attributed by those in the trade In the present extraordinary state of a> fairs.

One merchant, who has been coi nectetf with the trade in WellingU for over a quarter of a century, sai to a Dominion reporter:—

"1 have •never before experience; such a peculiar state of things as e:; kts at the present time, ami I don really think that the Hoard of Trad', acting with the Government, rcaliv. that ,it is tinkering with the fir;., essential in life (wheat and its pn ducts), and is doing as much as am one to keep up the cost .of living, say I don't know that the 1 board i. aware of what it is doing. The price of flour has gono up os. a ton tint ■week—to the maximum fixed by th Board of Trade—but in view of tin way in which the board is acting, i. would not at all surprise me if it re viewed its maximum price, and mad it still higher, in order to justify th. Government's bad bargain in Australian wheat.

"The trouble if now that there i: little wheat at all in the country, o« ing to the laxity shown in securing dr liveries in Australia of the wheat, pur chased many months ayo. And ye there are stacks of wheat rotting i'

Australia—sufficient has heen. devonrw by rodents and the weevil in the pa, two years to keep New Zealand goiiij.' for five years—and to-day broad itselling at s}d. the 2lb. loaf. There would be grounds for legitimate- complaint if there were vessels to lift wheat, but when Governments would rather see it rot or be eaten by mice, instead of letting the. people have it at a reasonable price, the- situation was intolerable. The shortage of wheat in New Zealand is so acute at present that some of the southern milk are threatening to close down.

"There was a line of wheat came here last week—some 3000 sacks of fowl wheat—and a line for the Government. So far —and that is over a week ago—we have been unable to get delivery of much of it. The stuff web all stacked m the sheds, without any notice being taken of marks, and before they could he separated and examined another lot of stuff was stacked in the same shed. Even the Government has been unable to get its wheat, which arrived a week ago—and the mills waiting for it. I believe an effort is being made to lift a big quantity now in Australia for New Zealaaid, but even if it were delivered at wharves in the south next week the' flour from it would not be available to the public until January, and before that it .looks to me as though there will he a serious shortage." Another merchant deplored the situation. "AVhat can you expect?" said he. "They put the price of bran down and pollard up, with the result that to-day neither is obtainable—the mills at once said that they had none to sell. I could have sold twenty to thirty sacks of fowl wheat in one-sack lots this morning if I had had it. I've only got three sacks of Australian—a good, clean sample—which arrived last week. Here's the wheat. The price is 235. 6d. a sack of three bushels, yet this week I've seen a quote of 6s. 6d. per sack (not per bushel) for fowl wheat, free on board at Melbourne. Bran— can't get it at all. I've got 20 tons on order. I may'get it in January. Pollard is jnst as scarce. If there had been a free ipen market with Australia—limited only to the needs of New Zealand—none of (his kind of thing need have occurred. AVhereyer any authority has interfered with prices the effect has been to harden them, and so the public suffers. worst of it is that the Government, by offering the farmers ss. lOd. per bushel for next autumn's crop and by prohibiting the importation of Australian flour, has practically determined that the public shall pay the maximum price for its bread."

This merchant said that good oaten chaff showed a tendency to ease. week it was quoted at £9 per ton; this week it was £8 10s., and there were indications that it would be still cheaper next month. Regarding flour, it should be explained , that the price of Victorian flour, f.o.b. at Melbourne, is £13 per ton net spot cash. The price for New Zealand to-day is £15 per ton, f.o.b. in the south (2-J- per cent, for 50 days). The prohibition Gn the importation of all Australian flour is to come into operation on January 1.