PRODUCE EXPORT PRICES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23488, 27 October 1939, Page 8

PRODUCE EXPORT PRICES

A certain amount of valuable information has at last been made available by Mr. Nash during his radio serial on the war-time marketing of the Dominion's primary exports. With regard to the basic wool price of 12jd per lb., Mr. Nash has made it clear that clips will be purchased at this rate at a stage previously represented by the delivery of wool for auction. This is quite satisfactory, provided, of course, that the growers are not called upon to pay the subsequent charges up to f.0.b., concerning which there still seems to be some difference of opinion. The Minister's assurance that New Zealand's share of any profits accruing from the resale of wool by Great Britain will be distributed among the growers is satisfactory also. They alone are entitled to it. The arrangements for butter and cheese, judging from the Minister's broadcast last night, are still obscure, but Mr. Nash is making great play with the question of equivalent values in London. Freights and insurance charges have risen, he says, so that an extra 5s 9d per cwt. for butter is now required in London to cover in full the ruling guarantee in New Zealand. All this would be most illuminating but for the fact that Mr. Nash , himself has already indicated that the British purchases will be made f.0.b., in which case all the extra costs of shipment will be the concern of the British Government. Apart from that, the Minister is showing a sudden concern that a price should be fixed covering the costs of production in New Zealand. He cannot afford to pay such a price under his own guarantee and he would have no cause for complaint, therefore, if Great. Britain, striving to preserve a balance among all her suppliers, were to advise him that some attention might reasonably be paid to local production costs.