LOCAL MARKET FOR BUTTER

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 111, 4 February 1935, Page 10

LOCAL MARKET FOR BUTTER

Defeating Stabilisation MINISTER AND REPORTED CONTRACT Dominion Special Service. Auckland, February 3. An intimation that the Government would, in future, declare null and void any contracts made by dairy companies likely to upset the stabilisation scheme of tiie local butter market, was given by the Hon. C. E. Macmillan, Minister of Agriculture, when speaking on the subject of dairy legislation it Raglan.

“We found in the course of our investigations that an effort was being made to sidetrack the benefits which might accrue by stabilisation of tiie iocal market by the Sinclair Plan,” said the Minister. “We have every reason to believe that a contract has been entered into for 21 years which entitles one firm of chain grocers in New Zealand to purchase its butter requirements at M. per lb. less than the price obtainable at any particular factory. One large group of factories was prepared to do tliis. This would have destroyed any advantages from any system of stabilisation. “Mr. Sinclair, who has worked very hard for this scheme, knows that there is a big group of factories in the Manawatu and tiie Wairarapa which do a certain amount of stabilisation, anti they have been up against the same difficulty. This scheme has been practically destroyed and the Government considers that a contract of tiie description mentioned is unfair and should never have been entered into. If any more of these contracts are made, which are against the whole industry, the Government will declare them null and void.” concluded the Minister.