Manawatu Evening Standard. THURSDAY, JAN. 21, 1926. A FREE MARKET WANTED.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 44, 21 January 1926, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. THURSDAY, JAN. 21, 1926. A FREE MARKET WANTED.

The Canterbury wheat growers now definitely favour a free market for the disposal of tfieir produce. Government conti*ol, with the appreciation of wheat prices abroad, does not appeal to them. Hut, with the free market, they also want higher protective duties on both wiieat and flour. If the wheat stocks on hand and the new season’s crop were to be anything like equal to the demands of the population, and, therefore, sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the country until the 1926-27 crop was harvested, there would be a certain amount of reason in the demand that more protection should be afforded the wheat grower than is provided under the existing tariff. But, with a prospective shortage of some four or five million bushels of wheat, it is certainly too much to expect that the country as a whole would regard, with feelings of equanimity, any increase in the rate now levied on imported wheat. While the question of control appesfis at first sight to be one more intimately concerning the South Island growers it is impossible to lose sight of the fact that, in its settlement, the Dominion as a whole is intimately interested. Any further increase in the price of our breadstuff's, affecting as it must do the pockets of the people generally, is to be deprecated. The Government cannot afford to adopt a policy that would further increase the cost of living. But, if what certain Canterbury wheatgrowers 'term “adequate protection” is conceded, it seems inevitable that the price of breadstuff's will be further increased. In that event discontent would as certainly follow. Theoretically, New Zealand is in a position to grow all the foodstuffs that are required for its population. Practically, it fails on occasions to do so; hence supplies have to be obtained from Australia, or other wheat-growing countries, when the Dominion supplies fall short of requirements. In the interests of the growers duties are levied on both wheat and flour. With a big shortage in the Dominion crop, the supplies to make good that shortage ought to, and should, be admitted duty free, so as to ensure as cheap breadstuffs

as possible, while that shortage continues. Were the duties permanently abolished, very little wheat, if any, would be grown in the Dominion, because, as the “Standard”- lias pointod out on more than one occasion, the cheaper grown Australian wheats would be coming in and making it impossible for our wheat growers to sell against them, except at a loss. But, it is very desirable that the wheat grower should be encouraged to continue in the business, and since he cannot do so without a certain amount of protection that protection should, and must, be afforded him, otherwise he will have no inducement to carry on his wheat growing operations. With wheat now obtainable in the Commonwealth at about Gs per bushel,- the cost of landing Australian supplies in New Zealand, assuming that no duty is levied, would be Ts per bushel, the freight amounting to Is per bushel. The prices agreed upon at the conference between the wheat growers and the millers last month were Gs sd, 6s 7d and Gs 9d per bushel. It seems only fair that New Zealand wheat growers should bo assured of at least the landed cost of the Australian wheat which has to be imported this year, when they are disposing of their 1925-26 wheat. That would give them 7s per bushel on the present cost of the imported wheat. If, however, the duty of Is 3d per bushel has to be paid, the cost would be increased to 8s 3d per bushel, which is excessive, and would mean a big increase in the price of both flour and bread. For obvious reasons it is very undesirable that the duty should be levied on the imported wheat. So far as such importations are concerned, the Government has at present complete control, as private importations are confined to supplies ordered abroad, on or before January 7tli of this year. But the Government, states the new Minister for Agriculture, will not now undertake the control of the approaching wheat harvest so that the control regulations now in force will be cancelled. There remains, however, the difficulty of inducing farmers to continue in the wheat growing industry. If the Government merely imports sufficient wheat to tide the country over until the next harvest, it should be possible, by introducing a sliding scale of duties—to operate automatically—as prices rose or fell, to afford the wheat grower that meed of protection which is needed by him, if he is to continue in the business at a profit. When, for instance, imported wheat would, with freight and duty, be costing 8s 3d per bushel the duty should, under the sliding scale, cease to be levied, so that supplies could be landed at 7s per bushel. When the cos.t of landed wheat fell to such an extent as to make the grower’s business unprofitable, the duty could be raised. In this way the grower would be protected without the interests of the general community being in any way penalised. The matter is, however, of sufficient importance to justify the Government in setting up a special commission to deal with the whole problem of wheat growing, with the idea of stimulating interest in wheat production, and so obviating the necessity of going out of the country to obtain supplies. On present indications it seems probable that close upon a million and a-quar-ter sterling (possibly more) will have to be paid to the wheat growers of other countries during the coming financial year, for supplies which might be grown with profit to both our farmers and their employees in New Zealand, and the money thus retained in the country would be serviceable in that and other directions. Unless something is done to induce farmers to continue in the wheat growing industry we can only look for its further decline. No man, and no body of men, can be expected, in these days of uncertain labour risks and equally uncertain weather, to continue in such an unremunera live business as the wheat grower’s is proving.