SALE OF BUTTER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22487, 4 February 1935, Page 10

SALE OF BUTTER

CONTRACT WITH CHAIN STORES STABILISATION SCHEME THREATENED WARNING BY MINISTER / (Special to Dailt Times.) WELLINGTON, February 3. An intimation that the Government would in future declare null and void any contracts made by dairy companies likely to upset the stabilisation scheme of the local butter market was given by the Minister of Agriculture (Mr C. B. Macmillan) when speaking on the subject of dairy legislation at Raglan.

" We found in. the course of our investigations that an effort was being made to side-track the benefits which might accrue by the stabilisation of the local market by the Sinclair plan," said the Minister. "We have every reason to believe that a contract has been entered into for 21 years which entitles one firm of chain grocers in New Zealand to purchase its butter requirements at Jd per lb less than the price obtainable at any particular factory. One large group of factories was prepared to do this. This would have destroyed any advantages from any system of stabilisation. Mr Sinclair, who has worked very hard for this scheme, knows that there is a big group of factories in the Manawatu and Wairarapa districts which do a certain amount of stabilisation and they have been up against the same difficulty. This scheme has been practically destroyed and the Government considers that a contract of the description mentioned is unfaii and should never have been entered inio. If any more of these contracts are made which are against the whole industry the Government will declare them null and void," concluded the Minister.