DAIRY PRODUCE CREDITS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19413, 23 August 1926, Page 8

DAIRY PRODUCE CREDITS.

CONTROL BOARD'S POSITION

ARRANGEMENTS DEFINITE. REPORT OF HITCH DENIED. WAITING MAIL ADVICES. A report was circulated- in Auckland on Saturday that practically all of the English dairy produce importers were steadfast in. their refusal to establish credits in the name of the Dairy Control Board. > Our Wellington representative put the report as circulated to Mr. T. C. Brash, secretary of the Control Board, who said: "The letters'of credit required by the board for the carrying. put of its policy as from September 1 have been definitely arranged for. A number of them have been cabled to, New Zealand and the others are on the way." Mr. Brash intimated that he did not wish to discuss the private report but preferred merely to state the exact position.

Inquiries made in Auckland were successful in tracing the rumour to its source. It appears that the report was due to a misapprehension or the misreading of a telegram. Later in the day more explicit advice was received but the resulting correction failed to reach all those who had heard the first report. Uneasiness ol Farmers. While it is anticipated that a full statement on the position will be made by the Dairy Control Board in the near future, the absence of definite advice as to whether the dairy farmers will receive their advances on the 20th of next month in the usual manner or what' these advances will be is causing some uneasiness, not only among the farmers, but also among the trading firms who look forward to a trade revival in the spring. The credits established by the London importing houses under the pre-ccintrol regime expire at the end of the present month, and there is much speculation as to what the future position is likely to be. Absolute Control Next Month. Absolute control of all free dairy produce for export will be taken by the Control Board at midnight on August 31. Control will not apply to those factories which have entered into contracts regarding the' disposal of their produce,, and although the board will have the disposal of the greater part of the exportable butter and cheese of the Dominion, the quantity which will be outside its influence is considered to be sufficiently great to constitute a factor which must be reckoned with on the market. Competition Among Buyers. It is not necessary to look far to trace the causes of the Uneasiness among dairy farmers and the business houses with whom they trade. The first of the new season's butter is generally ready for shipment in August, and, in the past, there has, as a- rule, been keen competition on the part of f.o.b. buyers to obtain the outputs from factories for periods ranging from one month up to four months. Last season, for instance, .output's of butter and cheese up to December were purchased in August at up to Is 7£d per lb. for butter and 9£d for .cheese. . i Announcement Awaited. -This early buying enabled the factory directors to make substantial advances to their suppliers, while factories which adhered to the consigning policy were also able to follow suit by means of the credits established by the houses to which the produce was to be consigned. The advances last season to the farmers ranged up to Is 6d per lb. butter-fat. This season, however, the advances so far have reached only Is 5d as the maximum and the average is down to about Is 3d I and no one knows what it will be next month. A specific announcement by the Dairy Control Board is therefore awaited rather anxiously.