RISING PRICES

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4874, 23 July 1936, Page 5

RISING PRICES

DAIRYING OUTLOOK. EFFECT ON GOVERNMENT PLANS New Plymouth, Wednesday. Awaiting the announcement of the Government’s guaranteed prices for dairy produce, Taranaki dariy farmers are taking a keen interest in the steady rise on the London market. It is generally expected that the guaranteed prices will be slightly below the current London quotations, and a good deal less than the figure at which large f.o.b. sales have been made recently. Some dairymen, however, are inclined to believe that the Government will go a little higher in view of the buoyancy of the market. The opinion that the firmness of the market has been unfortunate for the Government’s plans has been expressed freely in Taranaki, though the Government has clearly stated that the guaranteed prices will be made with regard to the financial position and not with regard to London prices at the moment. Doubt is expressed whether the farmer will be satisfied with this, even though assurances have been given that any surplus will be used for the benefit of the industry. The suggestion has been current recently that the Government will fix the prices for three months only, by which time the peak for the season would normally be reached and a decline begun under the pressure of supplies. Had it been suggested last spring that the return to farmers for the season that has just closed would be almost as large as the guaranteed price, it is doubtful whether they would have believed it. However, in the case of companies that held a large quantity of produce till the end of the season, this will be so. The industry is expecting prices which will make possible payments for the season of Is Id for butter and Is 2%d for cheese, though they hope that in the light of recent events prices may be a little higher. Several Taranaki cheese companies will receive close to Is 2d per lb. for butterfat for the season.