WHEAT AND FLOUR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22024, 5 August 1933, Page 14

WHEAT AND FLOUR

DUTY REDUCTION URGED ABOLITION OF SLIDING SCALE (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND. August 4. A substantial reduction of the duty on wheat and flour, and the abolition of the sliding scale of duties, was advocated by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce m evidence before the Tariff Commission. It was urged that duties, while perhaps reasonable when inaugurated, had through the fall in world prices become of the order of 100 per cent. It was undesirable that one class should be placed in privileged position. The sliding scale had maintained the price of bread and other staple commodities unduly high, and consequently had impeded the fall in tincost of living, money wages, and industrial costs. They had maintained an no duly high cost for pig and poultry fee I. made tariff bargaining with Australia and Canada difficult, prevented the fall in Canterbury land values to an economic level, and had led to unduly large areas going into wheat production. This in turn had, led to a surplus output and marketing difficulties, which, in effect, meant that the foreign buyer of New Zealand wheat secured it inordinately more cheaply than the New Zealand buyer.