THE PRICE OF WHEAT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17077, 28 January 1916, Page 10

THE PRICE OF WHEAT.

MI? M'COMBS REPLIES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Mr J. M'Combs, M.P., in the course of an interview yesterday replied to various correspondents who have taken exception to his statements in regard to what he considers a fair price for wheat under existing circumstances.

Mr M'Combs said that the manager of the Northern Holler Milling Company had informed him in :i long telegram that the selling price of wheat was in the vicinity of 5s 9d to 6s'. and not 7s. as stated by Mr M'Combs. Mr Virtue should ho more careful in giving quotations. What Mr M'Combs had said was that owners of wheat hndbeen asking up to 7s per bushel and that a Press Association telegram of January 18 had' been published from Auckland which stated that " twenty-four thousand bushels of wheat imported by the local mills from Sydney arrived per the Rive-ruin to-day. It is staled that wheat can bo imported duly paid cheaper from Australia landed here than the price southern holders now ask for old wheat. Further shipments are expected.'' .He left Mr Virtue to settle that matter with his confreres in Auckland. " Twenty-four thousand bushels of wheat." Mr.MXombs added, "with more to follow on which freight and chitv has to be paid, and only the other day we exported 100,000 bushels to Australia, and. the National Government lifted the embargo on export to enable the millers and merchants to dispose of our surplus." •' Mr Virtue's .naive reference to work for the waterside workers only shows how superficial are his views, bocause surely if "l were only considering the question of giving work to waterside workers the best -way to do it would be to import all our wheat. " Your correspondent ' Springston Farmer,' who says that Mr Horrell in-

iormed Mr Massey that farmers could grow wheat and make a profit at 3s b'.l a bushel, seems alarmed at my moderate demand that the duty on imported wheat should only be reimposed when the price drops below ss. Might 1 suggest to ' Springston Farmer,' who says 1 do not understand the subject, that the whole of the wheat question is not comprised in knowing how to gray. - it, and that Springston and Tomplcton do ■ not comprise the whole- of the wheat-growing districts in New Zealand .-. that tile first crops to bo reaped are likely to be those on poor or dry land, and that Mj- Massey made his estimate of an average of 20 bushels to the acre after receiving reports from more places than Springston and Temptation. That 'Springston farmer' knows nothing about statistics is evidenced by the following statement: 'Mr Massey estimates on last year's threshing returns that there will be enough wheat to last till March, hut he will find his estimating wrong, as much of last year's wheat was in flour as early as January, and their statistical year -was at-the end of March. Also, his estimates are wrong, as threshing machines gave returns of all seconds threshed, and also smutted wheat, which is useless.' "For 'Springston Farmer's' information let me. say that the Statistical Department has issued quite a number of returns since March last and that the latest figure:, available are not i based on estimates or threshing returns, and that there is a separate record of milling wheat and of seconds. A special census of -wheat and flour stocks was taken as for October 31, and the results to hand up to November 10 are. as follow:—. Bushels. October 31. Milling wheat . . . 2.2(57,341 Wheat other than milling . 120.520 Wheat in stack (approximate) 18,300 ' 2,400,167 Tons. Flour. :. ... • 10,3151 "These figures show that Mr Massey was well within the mark in saying we had enough wheat to. last till March 11. For .'Springston Farmer's' information I might state that the Dominion food requirements arc 500.000 bushels per month and that 10.315 tons of flour is an additional month's supply. " As for the farmers not heing prepared to grow wheat at 5s a bushel, let me give the following figures as to prices farmers'have had to accept for wheat. The figures are taken from the evidence given before the Cost of Living Commission by William Ralph Gardner, flounniller. Cost:— . ,;.-•■. First of March. Wheat. Flour. -

"It might be remarked Mint when wheat reached 4s 2d, 4s and 3s 9d for the years 1908,-9-10 respectively, the farmers showed their eagerness to grow at that price by producing over eight million bushels in each of the following rears 1909-10-11. Six million bushels cciual our yearly food requirements for the Dominion, i wish to repeat what 1 have already said, that I want to see the farmor got a fair price for his wheat."

s. <1. £ s. d. 1902 2 9 8 10 0 1903 '. 3 10 Jl « 0 1904 . ' 3 1 9 0 0 190-j 3 0 9 10 0 1900 3 0 8 10 0 1907 . 3 1 8 10 0 1908 4 2 11 o 0 1909 4 0 10 10 0 1910 , . 3 0 10 0 0 1911 3 2 8 10 0 1019 3 5 8 10 0