GUARANTEED PRICES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 12 March 1936, Page 10

GUARANTEED PRICES

“EXPENSIVE FAILURE” EXPERIENCE OF SOUTH AFRICA Reference to the attempt of the South Afriem Gove; iuim uL to fix and gnatanife agricultural prices” was . made'by Mill.. 11. Djllyy, leader of the Scutlii African sc? lion c.f the visiting farmers party during ; an interview with the WellingtoH- “Post” yesterday. . .The party, which consists of British and South African farmers, is' making a thorough tour of both the North and South Islands, for the purpose of studying New Zealand agricultural methods Mr Dilley said that experiments ’ in the fixing of agricultural prices in South Africa had been an expensive failure, From the consumers’ point of view, the prices of wheat, sugar, and other farm products were quite unnecessarily hiigli. I from a farmnig point of view, the schemes had not furthered good husbandry, because they had encouraged the growing of second grade crops on land much better suited to other products. For instance,, much inferior wheat was being grown outside of the. real wheat belt, while the cost of wheat to the baker was considerably greater • than were prices in the world market. -South Africa, was producing the most expensive sugar in the world A subsidy of £3,900,000 was paid sunnily to sugar producers, while consumers in Soutli Africa were paying twice as much for their sugar as it. was being sold for in London.

Mr Dilley expressed, the opinion that farming land in New Zealand was grossly' over-capitalised. lie could not see how some of-the farmers could-pos-sibly carry on with the* extraordinary mortgages some of them seemed to carry. The South African Government had" compulsorily decapitalised tremendous areas. It had written down its

own holdings to a charge which the land would carry and had also reduced excessive interest on private' holdings. . Members of the South African party, Mr Dilley said, were amazed at the richness of, the pastures they had sc-cti in New- Zealand,, and also with the efficiency of farm equipment. He mentioned that horses ware now supplanting tractors on African farms, but he had discovered nothing more suited _ to the warm conditions than oxen, which were “booming” in the northern part of the. Union.

Before members oUthe party came to New Zealand. Mr Dilley said, they'had been told that there were ‘ here no good hotels, and that the- railways wove very poor. ■ He,; had been more than agreeably surprised • with .-.hotels-,- roads, and the railways. The party had not met, anywhere on the world tour, such an efficient and obliging tourist organisation as that' of the New Zealand Government. It-appeared to him to he.-un-equalled in- the world. The Wellington manager of the* Department-.Mr D. W. Marshall, ’had travelled- v with_them; and had given them ah "exceedingly:,, good time.