GUARANTEED PRICE

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 32314, 15 September 1943, Page 5

GUARANTEED PRICE

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —I am sorry my letter annoyed an old friend. I am not concei’ned about Sid or Walter or the prices in other countries and had Mr Durman stated the prices fixed by the Marketing Department to the poultry-keeper with a guarantee of supply it would have been more to the point. My concern is that Sid is throwing the dairy farmer* back to the mercy of the open market. ’

Let me state two happenings of the past, and they can happen again unde1 ’ producer control: The companies paid out 18d advance for butter and it was sold on the London market for 9d per lb. The farmers had to make repayments. The storekeepers will remember if the farmer has forgotten. Second: Two agents hawked Dimmocks’ Bacon shares around the district. At the time pigs were .selling at 5d lb and they gave a verbal guarantee to the farmer that pigs would be stabilised at 7d lb. and the fai’mer would pay 6s 8d a share and the banks would, carry 13s 4d. On these terms they sold thousands of worthless shares not only to farmers, but shrewd businessmen and members of the legal profession fell for big profits. No sooner were the shares unloaded than baconers dropped to 3d lb and the banks sued and obtained judgment for* the 13s 1 4d owing on the worthless paper. Mr George Buchanan, will confirm my statement. These thingy can and/will happen again under producer control but they cannot happen under the Guaranteed Price.—l am, etc., H. E. HILL, Paeroa, 13/9/43.