PHOSPHATES SUBSIDY

Evening Star, Issue 21218, 27 September 1932, Page 9

PHOSPHATES SUBSIDY

THE POLICY JUSTIFIED ' [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, September 27. “ It would appear that the policy of subsidising superphosphate is sound, because it lias induced the farmers to use so much more of it, with a consequent increase in production,” said the ffon. C, E. Macmillan (Minister of Agriculture) this morning, when referring to the completion of the arrangement under which New Zealand has secured a reduction in the price of the raw product, which means a gain to the Consolidated Fund of £16,000. Mr Macmillan said that the redaction applied for the current financial year, and it would help to offset the £165,000 which represented the cost of the subsidy of 11s on every ton of superphosphate manufactured and and sold in New Zealand. The State subsidy was further subsidised by manufacturers and merchants.

As exemplifying the increased use of superphosphate, the Minister said that the deliveries from Nauru and Ocean Islands for this year practically reached those of the peak year, 1930. For the year ended June 30, 1930, the deliveries in New Zealand totalled 176,143 tons; for 1931, 132,130 tons; and the estimate for 1932 was 168,878 tons. Since the granting of the subsidy, there had been a very material increase in the demand for phosphate, and the, ability of the Islands to give increased supplies was duo partially to the establishment of an up-to-date loading appliance at Nauru, which enabled the work to be carried out most expeditiously.