PRICE OF SUGAR

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 229, 22 June 1920, Page 4

PRICE OF SUGAR

♦ "CHEAPER HERE THAN ANYWHERE" STATEMENT BY BOARD OF TRADE Sugar and its prico, the allocation of present supplies; and the arrangemonu for new supplies, aro the subject of a' statement by Mr. W. G. M'Bonald, chairman of tho Board of Trade.

"Sugar IB oheapcr in New Zealand than it is in any other part of the world," said Mr. M'Donald. "In tho world markets, where tho price has not been controlled in the interests of consumers, the quotations have risen continuously till they now show a big advance on the prewar figures. Tho advantage enjoyed by New Zealandcrs is the direct mult of agreements made by the Board of Trado on behalf of the Government with,., the Colonial Sugar Refining Company. The aggregate savirc thus cflected for tho general public during the past three years is approximately two million pounds by comparison with the amount which would have been paid if the market for Bugar had been ireo in New Zealand as elsewhere.

Injirdcr to make this fixation of prices for the benefit of the publio" it was necessary for tho Board of Trade to have control pf the'supplies. Indeed such control ia essential for anv scheme of satisfactory fixation of prices. "While the cheapness of sugar has been a comfort to many thousands of.houECholdß, the comparatively low prices have caused an abnormal buying, and have thus necessitated a far-ranging system of allocation. Statistics show no shortage in the quantities of BUgar supplied to New Zealand. If prices hero had been allowed to move upwards with the world rise the demand would have been correspondingly checked. A difficulty to-day is that though the BUpply of sugar is sufficient' for normal needs, it is not enough for the high demand which springs from the low price. Though the quantities which tho public can buy aro restricted there iB evt-, dence throughout Now Zealand that many people resorted to all manner of ruses to build up reserve stocks. There was evidently a.fear that tho quantities available for New Zealand" might be much reduced or that the price might be much increased. Therefore, people tried to assure supplies not only for present use, but for the future. This tendenoy of tho public acting on the principle •each for himself has reauired more and more care by the Board of Trado to assure a fair deal all around. "One result of tho individual householder's ellorts to 'stock up' during the paßt few months is that it is difficult to gaugo the actual domestic consumption which is based ordinarily on the statistics of sales. No one knows how much 'deferred consumption' is represented in the figures of- consumption as based on Bales. "As sugar ia chcancr in New Zealand' than elsewhere, goods manufactured from sugar in the Dominion aro also cheaper than in any other country of the world. The low cost of sucar could have provided very profitable opportunities for export if froedom of action had been permitted. Necessarily the Board of Trade had to take care to arrange a fair basis of allocation for manufacturers as well as household ÜBcrs. Tho Board's task had demanded a vast amount of detail work covoring all parts of tho Dominion. The Board has had to determine what amount of sugar Bhould be allocated to various industries and what amount should 08 allotted to the respective' users in each industry: what should be allotted to household use, and what should he allotted to individual merchants and grocers, .whose business it is to supply sugar for these purposes. This work hasbeen complicated by the irregularity and uncertainty of shinnine and by interruptions in the refining of BUgar by coal shortages. The people may rest assured that although they have not been able to get as much sugar as they wished to buy. the Board's allocations have been mads equitably. Occasionally one part of the Dominion has complained that it has been' in short Bupply for several days at a time. Such an accident is inevitable m such a complicated matter as tho allocated distribution of sugar, for various factors may caußc an occasional hitch, but there is no preferential treatment. All districts aro served alikefairly and squarely in accordance witn their needs and their rights. Tho Prime Minister has already publicly announced that the Government has en. tered into a new agreement with the Colonial Sugar Itefinine Company, whereby the raw sugar will be purchased in Fiii by the Government, refined at its ex'ponse, and distributed throughout Now Zealand. This new system will operatj as from Juljl'l. It is anticipated that tho auantitv. available will probably bein excess of that refined last year, and the refinery at Ohelaea will be kept' going at full capacity. Tho necessity for allocating supplies will still exist, and will bo continued under tho control of tho Board of Trade."