PRODUCE & SHIPPING

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9695, 25 June 1917, Page 6

PRODUCE & SHIPPING

BUTTER AND CHEESE BUTTER-FAT TAX OR EXPORT TAX? Interviewed by a '“New Zealand Times” representative on Saturday, the Minister for Agriculture and Commerce (the Hon. VS*. D. S. MacDonald) mad© an important statement as to the present position in regard to butter, cheese, and shipping. In reply to a question, the Minister stated that there wore at present 130,000 crates of cheese and 2d0,000 boxes of butter in cold storage in New Zealand awaiting shipment. That was, lie said, mainly due to the difficulty experienced in securing ro {rigera.ti.ng touuager. He, ns the Minister in charge, and the Government had been much criticised in regard to the shortage of shipping, and their difficulty m meeting such criticism was that they could not blazon out all the information m to the ships that were coming to Xew Zealand. There were Oil refrigerated ships owned by the four largo companies trading to Now Zealand. But, of the 09, eight had been requisitioned, nine had been sunk, and there were only 20 at present available for New Zealand. A further sixteen had been diverted from Australia. They were told that siiips had been diverted by a big trust to America, but this was not so. There had been thousands of ships waiting to bo loaded at Home, and while waiting they had been requisitioned to make trips to America. That was the position. He had lei the imperial Government know that if tho cold stores in New Zealand weie not cleared, the production would bavu to be reduced. WHY REDUCE PRODUCTION r

"But, why reduce production?” asked our representative. “vihy could not tho butter and cheese now in cold- storage be put on the New Zealand market, so that our own people could have the advantage ol lower prices? The produce!* would make a very considerable profit even at lower prices; and they could continue production m full volume, and make still further profits on what, tnoy thus produced.” ‘‘ls there any shortage of butter and cheese in the Dominion?” asked the Minister, in reply. The prices go to show that there Is.” wa« the answer.

“1 am aware,” said the Minister, "that it has been stated that some factories have been selling butter for export at Is 3d per lb, but we have not been able to trace any case of that kind.” He Added that he hoped tfeat the tonnage difficulty would shortly be overcome, and then. the congestion of the freezing-stores would be relieved. There had been a good deal of negotiation in connection* with cheese, but he thought that when the results were announced they would oe favourably received. “THE BUTTER-FAT TAX.” “The suggestion has been made,” said Mr MacDonald, “that ‘the butterfat tax,’ as they call it, should . bo abolished during the coming session, and an export tax substituted. The suggestion may, of course, receive conaideration. There is no question that puc*s3‘stem of taxation as a whole will Have to be reviewed; and I can assure both those who obioot to the bUttcr-iat tax and the taxpayers generally, that there, is nothing from which revenue can be produced that will nob have to be tapped this coming session. If an export duty is put on produce, in place of the butter-fat tax, as asked for by the dairy factories, their last state might very well be worse than their first. It is the easiest thing in the world for the Government to put an export tax on. but not so easy to take it off again when the dairy factories think that it ought to be taken off. Once such a tax is put on it will bo a certain source of revenue, and it will be a very difficult matter to take it off again. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that a separate levy had to bo made on butter fat, but just the same outcry was made when export meat was taken for Imperial supply purposes. The taking of the export meat at loss than the world’s market price is justified, because, blit for the British Navy, where would the world’s market have been ? Mutton, beef, lamb, wool'and all the farm products what would they have been worth, were it not for the British Navy? As far as the butter-fat tax is concerned, bad' the Government taken no action the country would have been absolutely depleted of butter. What the Government has attempted to do by means of that Wry is simply to bring the suppliers of the local markets into line with the exporters. The price ot butter would have been 2s fid per lb locally if the producers had had their own sweet will. On the day the Government commenced to discuss the matter the retailers in Wellington had talked of putting up the price to Is lid and it would' not have stopped at that. But, even after deducting the butter-fat levy, the price at prosent received bv the farmers is chi pel ib higher than in 1914. Heaven knows what"the nrice would have been if no restriction* bad. Men .placed on itl There is no doubt that the cost of pro duction has gone up considerably, and the cost of freight, but nothing like in that proportion. A DUTY TO PERFORM.

“The landholders of New Zealand must remember that they bare a duty to perform to the people of this country, and that it is the duty of the Go vcrnment to give every section of the community equitable treatment. hex, wo see on one casualty list a thousand names of boys fighting for Us, we should at least protect their interests and those of their dependents.’• This, Mr MacDonald claimed, the Govern, inent had throughout endeavoured to do. The Government did not want to tax one section of the community to their detriment. The members of the Cabinet were doing their best, and could only ask the people to show a decided front for country and Empire. Boys were leaving the country for the most hideous tragedy of the century, and until the warp and woof of this tragedy was disentangled _we should do our part towards a glorious and decisive victory. BUTTER AND CHEESE.

“There seems.” continued the Minister, “to he an impression that the Jd is deducted from every pound of butter, but that is not so. The Jd levy is deducted from every pound of butter fat. On cheese this levy works out at a fraction over hi per pound; and since one pound of butter fat mak»a 1.161 b to I.lßlb of butter.

the 3d per pound on butter fat works ■out at .05 of a penny per lb ou butter, whereas £d is .75 of a penny._ The levy is, therefore, somewhat higher on butter than on cheese; and it must be admitted that the butter factories or companies are also at a disadvantage in comparison with cheese, owing to the Imperial Government having purchased the whole of the output of cheese and making payment for it either in store or f.0.b.; while butter has'not been requisitioned by the Imperial Government. and is thus at a disadvantage in regard to transport. “Up to date the position with regard to shipments of cheese and butter since September Ist, 1915, is as under : Butter. Clio esc. Weight 387,786 cwt 853,391 cwt Value ... £2,681,625 £3,006,160 September Ist, 1916, to May 31st, 1917. Weight 336,611 cwt 771.982 cwt Value ... £2,667,935 £3,483,375 “So that while the volume of exports of both butter and cheese has fallen somewhat, .the producers have received only slightly less for butter, and nearly £480,000 more for cheese.”