FIXED BUTTER PRICES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23487, 26 October 1939, Page 7

FIXED BUTTER PRICES

CONTROL PREPARATIONS A PASSING SHORTAGE DISLOCATION OF SUPPLIES [x-UOM OUR OWN COItIIESI'ONDENTj 3 LONDON, Sept. 27 i The wartime British Minister of ' Food, Mr. W. S. Morrison, lwis ari- " nouneed the pooling and blending of > tlie nation's stocks of butter and the " revision of butter prices. The new 1 maximum prices, applicable to all kinds s of butter, are: —First-hand price ex 3 store, 145s per cut.; Avholesalers' price delivered, 352s P<-T cwt.; retail price, Is 7d per lb. "Where butter is delivered in rolls, bricks, or packets to 1 a retailer, a charge not exceeding 6s t per cwt. may be added to the price charged to tlie retailer; in all cases, ' however, the maximum retail price reL mains at Is 7d per lb. An order taking over bulk stocks of butter so sis to control the initial • stages of distribution had already been > made, and dealers in butter and cheese, 1 importers, shippers' selling agents, ) wholesalers, secondary wholesalers, J blenders, and processors have been regj istered. Tho new maximum price order | replaces an earlier order which fixed > prices at Is 5d per lb. for home-pro-1. duced and certain foreign butter and 3s 7d per lb. for Empire and Dutch : butter. • It is stated that when rationing is introduced each consumer will be en- • titled to a definite quantity of butter and margarine, and tho present -arrangements to deal with what it termed "a passing shortage" are only temporary. This shortage is explained b.v tho Ministry in general terms as dun to diminution of supplies from the Continent and dislocation of shipments from other sources. It is thought that the announcement would have been more helpful had it shown whence normal trade is now interrupted. For example, imports from certain countries last year werePoland, 199,073cwt.; Lithuania,22B.lll io.K ; ~r^' atvia .' 399,899 c wt.; Estonia, jßo,lo9c\vt. No figures of tho imports from .Russia last year are available, but in previous years tliev ranged between 2oo,ooocwt. and 500',000ewt. Presumably, these supplies have now ceased. Our imports from Australia and New Zealand are on a much larger scale, but these countries have not yet reached their full export season. IRON AND STEEL OUTPUT VALUE OF DOMINIONS NEW STRATEGIC FACTOR While tho growing strength of the iron and steel industry in the British overseas Dominions is undoubtedly causing problems for purely commercial interests in England, tho fact remains that it is a new strategic factor of first-class importance, says the Manchester Guardian Commercial. The British home steel industry can J turn out about 14,000,000 tons of ingots yearly, a small enough total compared with Germany's 24,000,000 tons, Russia's 20,000,000 tons, not to mention the United States' possible production of 70,000,000 tons. Tlie Dominions, however, can add another 4,000,000 tons of annual capacity to the British total, 1,500,000 from Canada, 1,000,000 each from India and Australia, and close on 500,000 tons from South Africa. The Dominions could make much the same contribution to pig iron production, although in this case the positions of Canada and India would be reversed. The chief point about Imperial steel capacity overseas is that it is situated right in the middle of tho centres of consumption. Another factor is that all tho Dominions are virtually sclf-stifli-cient in the matter of essential raft* materials. Canada, of course, had a substantial iron and steel industry before tho last war, and in bulk tonnages has made little progress since then, but the industries in India, Australia and South Africa are mainly of war and post-war growth, and their contribution to British strength will bo enormous. DIVIDEND UNCHANGED TARINGAMUTU TOTARA [by TEIiKCtKAPir —ritKSS association] WELLINGTON, Tuesday Taringamutu Totara Sawmills has advised the Stock Exchange Association that the directors recommend a final dividend of 4 per cent, making 7 per cent for the year, the dividend rate being unchanged. The dividend is payable on December 1. THE JAPANESE YEN a u DOLLAR RATE PEGGED TOKIO, Oct. 24 The official yen-dollar exchange rate has been pegged at 23 7-1G cents. A message from New York, commenting upon the breaking of the yensterling link, states that it is understood that Japanese banks had difficulties with the British Treasury in their efforts to obtain exchange for transactions in America. The bulk of Japanese banks had largo holdings in sterling in London at the outbreak of war. Tho Japanese informant said tho chango of policy was important. Tho terms of .7a pan-American relations means that Japan hopes to continue close economic relations with the United States, and is prepared to recognise New York instead of London as tho financial capital of tho world. FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES IN LONDON LONDON, Oct, 21 Foreign exchange quotations are: New York (dollar), <1.002; Paris (francK 17(31: Amsterdam (gr.), 7.58; : Brussels (bolga). 23.90; Milan (lirel, : 79.00; Hongkong (dollar). Is 2 63-61; i Shanghai (dollar). 4 29-32 d; Stockholm (kr.) , 16.50; Copenhagen (kr.), 20.75. SHARES AND DEBENTURES VALUES IN LONDON ] LONDON, Oct. 21 I On tho London Stock Exchange j quotations of bank shares and other i corporation debentures and stocks com- t pare with quotations on October 10 as J follows: ; Oct. 10 Oct. 24 1 £ r d £ s (1 " Australian .. 5 7 li (J 7 0 E., S. and A. .. 2 17 0 15 1 (5 c Union of Australia r> 0 0 5 5 0 j \'ew South W.llcs .11" 0 0 "ID 15 0 National of iN.Z. .13 0 13 0 N.Z. Shares .. 1 3 0 13 0 * British Tobacco . 1 11 10Y a 131 10% t fioJdsbrough-Mort . oln U 010 O Dalgety . . .. 4 '2 0 4 5 0 i ]'. & O. (def.) .. 10 0 10 0 N Z. Loan & Mere. 1 M |>.c., dob.) . 70 0 O 72 0 O J N.Z. Loan it Mere. f (ord.) . . 11 0 0 14 0 0 t Tuo pricec arc all nominal. ( Prices of mining shares are: —New y Guinea, Is 9d; Bulolo, 92s 6d. P