IMPERIAL BUYING

Evening Post, Volume C, Issue 85, 7 October 1920, Page 8

IMPERIAL BUYING

BUSINESS IN MILLIONS. J

The total payments made by the Imperial Supplies Department to 30th September amount to £146,222,787. From, this huge sum £966,605 has to be deducted for payments made in respect to business on account of the Dominion Government, th© balance, £145,256,182, has been paid directly or indirectly to producers of New Zealand, and paid practically cash down on delivery of the produce. The principal items are : Frozieni meat, £,51,285,784; wool, greasy, scoured, slipe, and sheepskins, and wool profits so far distributed, £61,646,413; butter, £8.399,616; cheese, £21,095,504; hides, £740,362; scheelite and sundries, £1,147,----433. ' .

The purchases of meat, which began on 3rd Mairch, and of cheese, which began on 4th November, 1915, have- come to an end; so, too, has that of wool, from Ist December, 1916, in the case of greasy, and from 31st March, 1917, as to freezing companies' slipes and sheepskins. Hides and scheelite, too, have not been purchased for a considerably time past. Only_ purchase of butter is now being continued^

' The purchases of meat comprise 3,160,----271 quarters of beef, 14,044,883 sheep and 16,623,158 lambs, also, 2,077,311 bales greasy and 261,121 bales freezing companies' slipe. The dairy produce purchased was 3,074,992 crates of cheese, and 1.942,862 boxes of butter. There were 7,474,544 sheepskins purchased, .and 370,509 hides. This big business has tak«n a lot of skilful handling, but it has been carried through to the advantage of producers, and, through them, the Dominion as a whole. It had a wonderful stabilising influence on finance.