"UNBIASED SUPPORT"

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 108, 3 November 1937, Page 24

"UNBIASED SUPPORT"

MAJOR KING'S REMARKS

The submissions of the New Zealand Farmers' Union had now received support from an unbiased outsider, stated the Dominion secretary of the union, Mr. A. P. O'Shea, referring to the comment made at Auckland last Saturday by Major J. K. King, of Sydney, chairman of directors of Empire Dairies, Ltd., in relation to the guaranteed price of dairy produce. Mr. O'Shea added that Major King had also uttered a timely warning about the high internal costs of New Zealand.

Major King's statement was that he sympathised with the New Zealand dairy farmer in having to accept the low price fixed by the Government for his produce. It amazed him that the guaranteed price had been accepted so quietly when butter in London was bringing 150s. In addition to what he described as the "low guaranteed price," he referred also to New Zealand's, high internal costsl •

In connection with the high price at present ruling on the London market for butter, Mr. O'Shea pointed out that this price left no room for accusations that the dairy farmer was being assisted by the public of New Zealand. On the contrary, the public of New Zealand were receiving a very handsome subsidy from the dairy farmer, because they were buying butter at the guaranteed price which was considerably below the world market price. It would be interesting to find what the dairy farmers of New Zealand had lost by supplying the local market at less than world price.

It should be stressed also that on the present price it would not be very long before the overdraft remaining in the Dairy Account for last year was completely extinguished. The fact that butter was being sold in New Zealand at less than London price also completely removed New Zealand from the reproach made by farmers in Great Britain that butter was being dumped on C>e London market at a price less than that which was charged in its country of production.

This applied in the case of nearly all the larger suppliers of the London market except New Zealand. If the prices for butter in New Zealand were brought into line with the prices obtaining in London at the present tim# it would be costing about ls 6d in the ghops of the Dominion today.

Th#ugh the price for butter sold in New Zealand was lower than, the London price, the dairy farmer still had to meet the high production costs.