THE BUTTER CONFERENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18446, 6 January 1922, Page 5

THE BUTTER CONFERENCE.

IMPEEIAL SUPPLIES:' PROPOSAL TO RE-PURCHASE OFFERED AT 100 a PER OWT. ' % ... i■> - ■ : *£^l (Pee United Pbebs Association.). - . / WELLINGTON, January ’ s.’^ The critical situation which has ariscn'i in the dairying industry on account of! the’; , low prices for butter ruling in England was the subject of an important conferenci)) of representatives ;of the dairyr held at the Dominion Farmers’ Institute); to-day. The business of the meeting "wwTto .consider the offer made by the Imperial, Government to sell back to the its accumulated stocks. These amount! fo‘ 310.000 boxes of New Zcalandblixi-tic and, 560.000 boxes of the Australian .article; h The prices offered one 100 s per owt, and 84s per owt respectively. The Australian 1 producers sat in conference in Melbourne on Wednesday, and decided to purchase, • with the assistance of their Governments! their portion of the accumulation.' They:., have since submitted a proposal to th»j; Commonwealth Government, and the suit is awaited with interest. To-day’s v conference was , attended 1 by about 20 direct representatives of the butted producers of the dominion, about .20 rfepr»*j sentatives of the dairying industry, Dr DL- 1 J. Reakes (Director, of the Department',or* Agriculture), and Mr W. M. Singleton l ; (Acting-Dairy Commissioner). Air W. J., Lees, of * the Imperial Supplies Depart*;* meat," watched proceedings on behalf of>(i the Government./' Mr A. Morton, chairman!;; of the National Dairy Association, Sided. \ • / The result of the whichlasted all day, was that the proauchrß’ , dO'l aided that it would be in the beet interests, of the industry.to purchase the New.Zea* land butter from the Imperial Goyorpmepiu at. the prices named, to pool •if together* with this season’s production, placing 'rt: unden the control of a committee representative of their own interests and - the Tooley street merchants. It was Mm cided to place on the market only sufficient butter to meet the demand' from '.time-th time. The re-sale-of the purchased-JjatteeS will be conducted under tbs supwrisiott of a committee, jend any profits arising’, ■ therefrom will be; distributed amdngst producers pro rata. Should a loss be -sustained in the sale, it. will be defrayed l a pro rata levy .on she producers, on-tlttr basis of this season’s output. . The Qov&feS* njont will be asked to assist, together yfitßr the importers, by way of guaranteeing.'pqy*’ ment, and in the event of a tvbyvC eminent will have ; recourse to' the .Jljw •duoers’ representative committee'; consisting of Messrs T. Basaott;:^.. Mofjjpwji and Sinclair (Auckland), J. Morton (Taranaki), EL Broadtelt ghd^J,) O; .’Ewington (Wellington), ■ toj(,brihg;rw«t| matter before the Government ‘and 1 lata;, details, in ’ the event of » being effected and the scheme beingf.pw into operation. . / , , i'i ’>.• iti.’.l The- committee held a fiiehtipg to-nighi, I when matters of organisation were dis-(i cussed. The chairman, at’®the conclusion!' of the meeting,, told a press -the Imperial; Government hod - originally j fixed January 7 as thadate up tp which E ■ commonwealth and dominion proddoere’;' might make purchases. A cablegram riy ; 'oeived that day, however, /from Commissioner intimated that authorities had extended the time January 14. •’ s According to inforofiiiion received by v the Government, the first proposal of?the -! Imperial Government was to sell the butter, 4 to an outside firm. Ip.; the interests of the,, dairying industry, hdweyer. it hod been considered ’ highly inadvisable ;to dp to,??as the operations of the firm in guestibn'might result in disaster to tho industry through prices for the remaining part c£ - the . year being brought down to "“a lower*-' level. It was in order to . prevent top'i possibility of such a thing happening .that _ the proposal was made that the producers 7 themselves should repurchase their butter; % from*’ the Imperial Government. ~ During the meeting, remarked Mr ,'Mor-;’ ton, a. much more reassuring cable, hod been received from London in regard to 1 ’the ‘ state of ■ tho Home market. The - demand for butter had evident# increased I largely, owing to the lower price at wjjick. ’ it ; had been’ retailed to. consume**,’v The present position had been occasioned) in the first place by the policy of the Im-S penal Government in continuing rationing of the British public tpr .» ’ \ longer period than was necessary, Thm; had been accentuated by tho ' lately, (n- - creased production in all butter-man ufao*’ 1 '; timing countries-during the present The production in New Zealand-, at, fbyu-; praseht time was phenomenal. - Tils principally due to the very favourable climatic conditions being experienced.