GUARANTEED PRICES

Evening Star, Issue 23025, 2 August 1938, Page 8

GUARANTEED PRICES

FULL REPORT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE NO UNANIMOUS RECOMMENDATION GOVERNMENT TOOK MID-WAY FIGURE [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON. August 2. Carrying out his promise to the dairy industry, Mr Nash, Minister or Marketing, is publishing the full report of the committee which advised the Government regarding last season s guaranteed price for butter aud. cheese. Over 30 pages of typed material have been posted to all newspapers. It is disclosed that the Government, in fixing last season’s price, did not exactly follow the committee’s recommendations, as there were three reports. Tho majority report, signed by Sir Francis Frazer (chairman.), u. A. Duncan, David Jones, N. H. Moss, and D. O. Williams, recommended as tho f.o.b. basic purchase price iper lb of butter 13.16 d, and 7.5 d for cheese. A dissenting recommendation by A. Morton, B. Roberts, and A. J. Sinclair recommended 13,57 d for butter and 7.82 d for cheese. The Government’s final decision was 13.66 d as the basic guaranteed price of butter, and 7.75 for cheese. The majority report expressed the opinion that the minority , recommendations regarding prices would result in a Tor the season of between £2,500,000 to £3,000,000. SPLIT ON LABOUR ALLOWANCE. The main differences of opinion from the majority report were in respect to the amount to be allowed for labour. It was pointed out in the majority report that tho chief danger of an overgenerous price was that it would encourage over-production. This would be a remote danger if the markets were expansive or under-supplied, but where, as in tho case of butter, the market is highly sensitive to increased supplies, the risk was of material importance. Mr Nash, in a statement covering the report, points out that the committee’s function was to advise hie Government, which had. the final responsibility. The committee was unable to arrive at a unanimous recommendation as to prices—m fact, three separate recommendations were submitted 1 . “ Each was supported by reasons in its favour. I am perfectly satisfied that each section of the committee honestly and in all good faith was convinced of the soundness of its position. The fact that on many important points the members were unanimous and that on a number of other points eight out of the 10 members were in agreement, is eloquent proof of the earnest desire of all members to assist the Governmnt and the industry by endeavouring to attain unanimity, wherever possible. “ As a matter of fact, the recommendations of the three sections of the committee as to the basic guaranteed price of butter varied within a very narrow margin. Five members recommended 13.16 d per lb; three recommended 13.57 d per lb, and two recommended 13.81 d per lb. There was less than two-thirds of a penny between the highest figure and the lowest figure. The Government did. not adopt any one of the prices recommended, but decided to fix a middle price of 13.25 d per lb. ALLOWANCE FOR HIGHER FARM COSTS. ” Within tho last few weeks the Government announced that, because of the increase in farm costs, and because of other difficulties with which the dairy farmers had been faced. during the present season, it would increase for the whole manufacturing season of 1937-38 the guaranteed prices fixed by it for export butter and cheese by .41d and .21d per lb respectively, and would provide for the payment of similar increases in respect of butter and cheese sold l for local consumption. _ These additional payments are approximately equivalent to a further payment to the suppliers for butter-fat of id per lb for the season.” ?