Protecting New Zealand's Bread and Butter

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7296, 5 August 1930, Page 4

Protecting New Zealand's Bread and Butter

If those opposing the wheat and flour duties were sincere they would also aim at the removal of import duties on butter. New Zealand butter is protected by the following duties: 2d a pound on Australian butter, 20 per cent, on butter from other British countries, and 40 per cent, on foreign butter. It is not hero suggested that theso duties aro not warranted. The vastly important butter industry deserves every possible safeguard. On tho other hand, New Zealand wheat and flour have even greater need for protection. Most locally grown foodstuffs, in fact, are protected from foreign competition, yet seemingly because wheat-growing w piactically confined to the South Island, it has become the object of attack ol certain North Island organisations. The protection afforded the New Zealand wheat and flour industries is through a sliding Scale of duties which protect both tho local producer and tec consumer. The extent of this protec; lion is not nearly so great as the public arc sometimes led to believe. For .he vcnr 1928, tho average rate or duty paid on flour coming to New Zeaiaud was £2 lls 2d per ton. In 19-9 the average rate was £2 10s 4d per ton. The local price boiug £lO los per ton means that the average duty lias been approximately only 15 per CC “L . P is a comparatively low rate which is more than justified by the national and economic importance of the industry which is protected. After all, the price of bread in New Zealand is not aftcctcu tp any appreciable extent by tho wheat and flour duties. Authentic figures recently published throughout the dominion showed that bread in New Zenland costs very slightly more than bread in Australia, and considerably less than the prices ruling in Canada and the United States. Incidentally, cheap wheat is available in all three countries mentioned.