Dairy Account Deficit

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 40, 17 February 1938, Page 7

Dairy Account Deficit

Over £200,000 Less Thao Estimate

N.Z. MARKETS ABROAD Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Feb. 16. Announcing that the deficit in tfcq Dairy Industry Account would be. £338.750, as against the estimate of £548,000, the Hon. Walter Nash, Minis-' ter of Marketing, opening the confer-' ence of the New Zealand Dairy Board,, gave an outline of the steps taken by, the Government to jyvc effect to ilsj policy of guaranteed prices. He expressed the view that a subsidy levy against New Zealand butter' and cheese in the United Kingdom was' not likely, but he pointed out th§t : therefore it was necessary to look for; new markets. The Minister said that he was satisfied that the Government had elimin- V ated speculation to a degree nobody thought possible before. With regard to consumption in England, he said, that there was not enough butter arr’l cheese going In if the needs of the) people were a measure, but the amount/ the people got determined what they could buy, and New Zealand had no control over that, although it could help by buying British goods. He had made an arrangement with Germany ( to take 500 tons of butter In Decern-1 ber, January and February. Germany had agreed to buy at the price ruling in London on the day of delivery. He thought that it was one of the beet arrangements that had been made. Referring to the Dairy Industry Account, llie Minister said that the accounts for 1936-37, subject to a final audit, showed the deficit to be £338,750. The average payout was 13.6 d for butter and 15.18 d for cheese. There had been some criticism of the. Marketing Department in regard to the manner in which the accounts were presented, and he thought that they were very complete. The deficit was originally estimated at £348,000, but this had been reduced to £338,750 as a result of the abnormal rise in price on the London market. That rise had been helped by sales. to^Cermany. GUARANTEED PRICE BONUS AT END OF SEASON NEEDED Par Press Association. WELLINGTON, Feb. 16. The annual ward conference of the New Zealand Dairy Board opened today, Mr. J. A. Murdock presiding over 50 delegates. The opening was made by the Hon. Walter Nash, and also present was the Hon. W. Lee Martin. Mr. Murdock, reviewing the past year, referred to the rising costs in fatcory working, and said that it was unfortunate, as was frequently pointed out, that the fixation of the guaranteed price takes place twelve monthi before the actual costs can be ascertained. In view of recent developments It might be necessary for the industry to ask that at the end of each season the whole question be reconsidered with a view to a bonus being paid by the Government to cover the increase in costs during the season. Speaking of production, he said that the season to date indicated a light falling off in quantity due no doubt largely to the unfavourable season, but also to some extent to dairying losing in popularity and other classes of farming being taken up. difficulty of securing labour, he said, in the opinion of many, was likely to lead to a steady decrease in the number of cows being milked. With a view to its being of service to the whole industry, during the year the board had given more attention to internal problems, particularly at the farm end, such as cattle diseases, herdtesting, research and other matters. The extent to which the Department of Agriculture was assisting the farming industry by research and in the field was outlined by Mr Lee Martin. Never before had there been such activity, he said, and such a desire on the part of officers to halo the industry. The visits of Dr. Hammond, of Cambridge, and Dr. Hucker. of America, were outstanding events. Their final reports had not. yet been presented, but he was confident that they would contain much valuable information, particularly in regard to animal diseases. - - - LOCAL MARKETING OF PRODUCE WELLINGTON, Last Night. An outline of the Government’s local marketing scheme was given to-day by Mr. J. K. Picot, Director of the Internal Marketing Division, to the delegates attending the annual Dominion conference of the New Zealand Dairy Board. He gave a full resume of the principles of the scheme and aswered a number of questions. On the agenda paper were a number of remits dealing with local marketing, and those carried were:— 1 ‘That it be a recommendation from this conference that a weekly account basis be instituted in regard to butter sales, but except in the case of suppliers’ butter and bank guaranteed accounts. ’ *

“That the ljd difference between the guaranteed and the local price be increased to 2}d.”