WHEAT AND THE PRICE OF BREAD

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3282, 27 February 1926, Page 10

WHEAT AND THE PRICE OF BREAD

labour Party’s Protest Against New Policy

HOUSEWIFE ALONE NOT CONSULTED

The following statement on tho wheat question as It affects the price of bread has been handed to the Press by the Labour Party;— “With a view to giving every env' couragoment to farmers to grow sufficient wheat for the Dominion requirements the Government has decided to retain the present duties on wheat,, flour, bran and pollard. Sectional Legislation.

.The above is the opening sentence of the most barefaced piece ’of sectional administration recorded in the history of the Dominion. The Government proposes to protect the wheat growers’ market by continuing /to impose duties on wheat, flour, ■bran, etc. This protection la to be given on a market which has only half of th 0 Dominion requirements hi eight. Fully to understand the iniquity

(f the Government proposals the übltc are urged to examine the •tatemeut iseuod by the Labour .Party on February 12. This statement in so far an It affected the Wheat growers, set out the position concisely and clearly by citing the following facts; — The- Witoatgrcwers’ Agreement.

(1) To ensure a supply of wheat 'sufficient for the Dominion requirement* the Government entered into agreement with the wheat-grow-ers whereby on condition of the feiovomineut guaranteeing a price per bushel, the growers agreed to iplant at least'2Bo,ooo acres,in wheat (2) The wheat-growers dellber-

ifctejy broke th« agreement with the Ipicvernment by restricting the area Wanted. Instead of planting- 260,000 iftcrea, they planted 160,000 acres only. Having produced a shortage -i-lln production by restricting planting, ■the wheat-growers demanded a free market. (3) The Government immediately acceded to the growers’ demands, and now announces that the free market will be protected by continuing the duty of £2 per ton on wheat, £8 per ton on flour and £1 per ton on bran and pollard. (4) The poultry farmers, realising that the restriction of produc- • tlon among the wheat-growers will jthean higher prices for wheat, approached the Government, and after consultations between the wheatgrowers, the poultry farmers and ■ the millers, the Government an- •' nounoes tliat wheat . for poultry farmers is to be admitted free. (5) The Government Anally an- [ nounoes that under the proposals V “the wheatgrowers shoulii receive the f"ll market price for all the wheat that he has to sell, while it Is unlikely the \consumer will be called upon to pay anything extra for bread." These facts show that the Government, allegedly working to ensure an adequate wheat supply, has panderted to a small body of men, who, before the Ink was dry on the agreement which they had signed, deliberately Initiated a policy that rendered a full supply of wheat impossible. - Duty Id. a Loaf of Bread. The Government policy of taxing Jyheat and all Its constituent parts Is Simply a subsidy to the growers of the amount of the duty, this subsidy equalling one penny on every fotir-pound loaf manufactured. ;’he Government’s apology for

levying the duty will not bear ex- ■ am [nation. To say that the farmer will hesitate to grow mor o wheat if I I the duty Is removed, is sheer hum- ■ pair: ' The duty will not produce a single

grain of wheat this season. ' The methods at present employed by the Government will never ensure sufficient wheat being grown for

bread-making. To subsidise the body which created the shortage by restricting planting, and then to buy !o(f another section whose protests could be hoard in rural circles, may succeed in pacifying recalcitrant Government supporters; but it will not ensure an adequate supply of wheat. The one person who has not been consulted throughout the negotiation* is the bread consumer. The mothers with large families struggling to make ends meet. The bigger the family, the more duty she pays. It already amounts to Id on each 4lb loaf; , but in spite of the fact that; she is the one who requires the bread, she has not been consulted- The wheat-growers, the jnlllera, the poultry farmers, have all been considered; but bread consumers have been left to pay. 1 fish® statement by the Government that the price of ' bread is unlikely to be affected will not bear examination. If the poultry farmer is to get hlo supplies from overseas duty free, and the price of bread is not to he Increased, where Is th e wheat grower to get his full market price from? It is difficult to understand the reasons actuating the Government i

Vlhen supplies are in surplus a duty la imposed on imported wheat to ensure payable prices to the grower. When supplies are short the duty is Imposed to encourage the grower to plant more wheat. The foregoing statement reveals that:—

(«). The present situation Is. the result of a definite policy to restrict production. (b). This system of restriction Is fostered by the Government, who have imposed a duty ! equalling Id per 41b loaf. (a). The imposition of the duty will: not produce a single grain of wheat this season.

(il). If the wheat-grower Is to get Id *hr her twice, and tha bread-con?

sumer is hie only ultimate consumer, the price of bread must advance. Price of Bread Should Not be , f'i ' Raised," Whilst protesting against the Government,/the Labour Party, understanding 1 many of the difficulties of the small wheatgrower. will support any proposal that will give the growers a fair return for their labour and the service they render the community. The party will also 1 support a legitimate return to the millers and bakers; hut the party protests emphatically against any system that will make the mothers’ lot harder by increasing, the price of bread. , Wheat is one of the prinie essentials for food, and each country should as far as passible endeavour to satisfy its own requirements. If this entails guarantees and pricefixing, the interests of all the people should be considered. An independant commission should be appointed at once to enquire into ways and means of placing the wheatgrowing, flour milling and breadmaking industries on a permanent basis so that ample supplies shall be available, and legitimate prices paid to all concerned for the service they render to the community. In the meantime, the price tof bread in New Zealand is high; but the consumers must make their voices heard if they wish It to be kept at its present leveL