NEW WHEAT PRICES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18584, 17 December 1923, Page 10

NEW WHEAT PRICES.

"AGREEMENT WITH MILLERS. — • SHILLING ABOVE .PARITY. GROWERS not;: satisfied. J•:",;• ;-j;o,'jjj ; ?.^- ~• '*; : PRODUCTION NOT PROFITABLE. [fiSf TKy.HOTtlPg.— CORRESPONDENT.! ASHBDRTON. Friday. - * Ail important r, statement regarding lite wheat position was made to the Farmers Union ycsierd »y by Mr. G. . Leadley, chairman of the - Wheat * Board. ■He said ?he was speaking under . & sense of restraint os the . Government .. stipulated • that the ' board must report its findings Co it before anything was published. Mr. Leadley said the action taken by the Wheat Board in regard to the incoming harvest was • taken at the request of farmers themselves and was authorised by t'ho four provincial executives of- the Farmers' Union in Canterbury, covering the districts irom North Canterbury to Oam&ru. By resolution, the farmers had asksd tho board to take charge _ of their busies? end 'o do Che best it could; The biisrd had done so and as a result ,the fanners would. get a higher pneo than last yMr. .. Before the sat in conference with tho millers, it ambled to Australia asking for the fob. prices of flour and wheat? in Melbourne and Sydney. Tho price quoted for flour would mean that farmers would have to soil wheat on trucks at 4s 2d 1 a bushel. Instead of that, the board had obtained ■well oyer a shilling mors* than the Australian quotation. > .'"there is an 80,000,009 bushels surplus of wheat in Australia this year," said Air. Leadley, " and we are the nearest market. Australia can land wheat at Auckland a<- a fraction of a penny more than we van send wheat from Timaru to Auckland. These facts will convince you that the action taken by the Wheat Board was in your interest. We had a big fight to get what we did. Had not the board done what it did in arriving at a bargain and maintaining flie embargo on Imports, ycu would not get more than 4s 2d for* jour best wheat on trucks," ■ Mr. Lsadley added that, like many others, he could not agree with everything fhat had been done. The price was too low. Farmers were not getting a fair profit or a reasonable reward for their energies, labour, risks and depletion of land. However, such was the posiCion. There was a world surplus of wheat and there was not a point on the globe to which the farmer could »end wheat and expect 7s a bushel." There will be & howl from the T.iu»ur Party " he remarked. " They will teli us wo should be made to accept the world's parity and thafi if wheat can he landed, at 4s 2d, why should the people not get it. The whole trouble is that farmers' or wheat growers' interests are sacrificed to the exigencies of the political situation. We are up against it. I know I will have to answer for the statement when I say that every ' wheat grower should reduce his wheat acreage by 50 per cent, next year and then - the • public will retlise who it is that -is providing them with bread." : Prior to the chairman's statement, Mr. James Cany of Mathven, asked if the published prices were correct namely 5a 2d for Tuscan, 5s 4d for Hunters and 5s 6d for Pearl f.o.b. nearest port. If so, they 1 wero not acceptable. . Mr. Leadley: I quite agree with yon.; Mr. Carr said the wheat area had been , considerably reduced ; because wheat was not payable, Present weather condition were further damaging; to prospects. The proposed prices were a penny over last year's, but threshing charges Had ? increased •by - lid. If they were unable to get a better price, they had better have an open market and let things take their course. " •• , Member*: Hear, hear. ; Mr. C!arr: •We will be compelled ): to abandon wheat growing. *1 The V discussion generally showed that farmerj were strongly disposed to organise a widespread " strike and produce other commodities. . '