THE FLOUR MILLERS' PROPOSALS.

Northern Advocate, 16 February 1926, Page 2

THE FLOUR MILLERS' PROPOSALS.

At this point the millers come,, in again. On February 3rd Mr. Corson, president of the Flour Millers’ Association, set out new proposals whereby control is to be resumed, and the following prices jmid to the wheatgrower:—Tuscan, 7s 2d per bushel; Hunters, 7s 4d; Pearl, 7s 6d. The Government to import the balance of the wheat required free of duty and distribute at above prices. An embargo to be placed on the importation of flour. The millers to raise the price of flour by £2 10s per ton. Bread to bo increased by Id per 41b loaf. (The price of bran, pollard, etc., is not mentioned in the report of the proposals.)

COMMENTS OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE. • To understand the flour position, it is nedfcssary to refer to the comments of the late Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) when delivering Judgment in the recent flour milling case. He stated:—-(a) That there is no free competition in the production or sale of flour in New Zealand.. (b) That Australia pays £lO to £l2 per tons against the New Zealand price of £.lB per ton. (e) That the Australian price was 50 per cent lower, in spite of the fact 'that the yield of wheat per acre in Australia is only about ten to twelve bushels per acre, whereas in New Zealand the average yield is close to 30 bushels per acre. (d) That it was not possible to get the price lowered here without the consent of Distributors Ltd., because there is no competition. ,

CONFERENCES. There have apparently- been several conferences between the wheat.: growthe millers, the bakers, and the Government; but the only person who has not been consulted up to the jpresent is the consumer. The wheat-grow-er is to have a free-protected market. The miller is to operate freely on an embargo-protected market. The consumer pays;

The position is that the millers and the wheat growlers are using their monopoly power to -coerce the of th'e Dominion to pay prices which are not warranted either by the service rendered or by the legitimate competitive market value of their products. If a free market for wheat, flour, bran, and the other by-products is the solution of the present difficulty, let the market be free. Let wheat, flour, bran and pollard ..be admitted free of all duty or restrictions of any -kind.

„ MR. CORSON’S PROPOSALS EXAMINED. The .proposals set out by Mr. Corson, and how they will affect the various users of wheat should be carefully examined. THE POULTRY PARMER. ' Information as to the actual quality of wheat used as poultry feed is not available; but the extra price set out by Mr. Corson would cost the poultry farmers somewhere near £50,000 for the year’s supply, and on top of this both the dairy farmer and the poultry farmer will have to pay higher prices for bran and pollard.

FLOUE £2 10/ PEE TON MOEB. On the basis of 48 bushels of wheat to each ton of flour, 6,720,000 bushels will be required to produce the estimated Dominion requirements of 140,000 tons. An increase of 9d per bushel in the price of wheat, as proposed by Mr. Corson, will cost the millers £252,000. An increase In price of £2 10s per ton on an output of 140,000 tons of flour will’yield the millers £350,000, or a net increased profit of £98,000. Mr. Corson does not suggest that the cost of milling wheat is higher when the price is 7s 4d per bushel than when it is 6s i7d. If the cost is no greateV, why should an extra £98,000 be included in the price? The proposals advocated, show that in addition to passing on the extra cost of the wheat, they provide for an added profit of nearly £IOO,OOO for the millers, and £50,000 for the bakers.

THE EEMEDY. One of the prime essentials for food is wheat, and the past policy of the Government, whereby its production within the Dominion has been fostered, provided that the policy is accompanied with provisions that will safeguard the community, is to be commended. The wheat grower should be guaranteed a price that will compensate him for his labour in good or bad seasons. The cost of milling under modern up-to-date conditions should be ascertained and arrangements completed to ensure supplies of the necessary flour, bran, pollard, etc. The cost of bread manufacture should be ascertained, and the price of bread fixed accordingly. There may be reasons against the fixing of prices, but if a full supply of wheat is to be grown within the Dominion then the grower is entitled to some guarantee. If a price is guaranteed for wheat, then prices should be fixed throughout. Price fixing by agreement cannot logically stop until the wheat, flour, bran, pollard and bread reaches the poultry farmer, dairy farmer and the housewifre. The Labour Party will support Mr. Corson’s proposal to set up an independent commission to inquire into ways and means of placing the wheat and milling industries on a permanent basis to ensure the production of our own requirements at legitimate prices to both producers and consumers.