SUBSIDY TO STAY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22313, 24 April 1947, Page 4

SUBSIDY TO STAY

BUTTER _& CHEESE PAYMENTS TO FARMER CONSIDERATION OF COSTS (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH. April 24. The Government is to continue meeting the difference between the retail price of butter and cheese and the prices paid to the farmer. This was made clear by Mr. C. P. Agar of Christchurch, in a broadcast address last evening on the agreement to set up a joint commission to fix the guaranteed price and to market dairy produce. Mr. Agar, one of the recognised leaders of the dairy industry and a member of the costs committee represented the dairy farmers in the negotiations with the Government which led to the agreement to set up a commission of three representatives of the Government, three of the industry and chairman to be mutually agreed upon. His address was broadcast by the four YA stations. Trade Agreements Mr. Agar said the commission would naturally be bound to carry out trade agreements such as Government-to-Government bulk sales, which would continue until 1950. and general trade directions which might be given by the Government to the commission. This was understood not to have any internal application except that if the Government determined as a policy to sell butter and cheese on the local market at less than the cost of production, as determined by the price fixed as payment to the producers, the difference would be paid to the commission by the State. The industry would not receive the difference between the price paid to the producers in that season and prices realised overseas. Referring to the dairy industry’s request for an adjustment of the 1946-47 guaranteed prices as a result of the extension of the 40-hour week to dairy workers other than farmers and their employees, Mr. Agar said he believed the referring of this adjustment to the commission was sound. The commission’s decision on the adjustment would be binding on both the Government and industry. This would enable the commission to commence its huge task of marketing with no matters in dispute between the industry and- the Government. After he had outlined the powers of the commission to market dairy produce at home and abroad, and to fix the guaranteed price, Mr. Agar said it would naturally be asked where, if the price to the producers was not realised from the sale of produce, would the funds' come from. In the first place the commission would take over the dairy industry stabilisation account, which at the end of this season would have funds estimated to exceed £9,000,000. What of Future? It was not expected that during the period of bulk sales there would be any difficulty in getting realisations covering costs of production. “What of the future when our produce goes to the unsheltered markets of the world?” asked Mr. Agar. “If the commission determines a price based on the farmers’ costs and considers that the stabilisation account is likely to go into debit, it will consult the Minister of Marketing. “I can imagine some farmers saying: ‘There, again, is political control.’ But the position will be that, having consulted the Minister, the commission will still be empowered to fix the prices to be paid to dairy farmers, and these prices will automatically carry the full State guarantee of payment. “The Government for its part sheds its responsibility for making decisions on the prices to be paid, and the industry for its part is equally bound by the decisions of the commission from which there is no appeal. “The commission is required to fix such prices for butterfat as will provide the farmers’ full costs and enable them to enjoy the same standard of living as other sections of the community.” The scheme agreed upon, said Mr. Agar, provided something the industry had desired for many years. He believed that the removal of the industry from party politics by a partnership between the State and the industry should be of benefit to both dairy farmers and New Zealand as a whole.