RURAL CREDITS.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12417, 9 August 1933, Page 2

RURAL CREDITS.

TRE ANNUAL REPORT

Tlio annual report of the chairman of the Rural Intermediate -Credit- Association is as follow-. Ou-inii to the end of our financial year falling on the 31st Octobei, and consequently having to hold out a .unul meeting in November, whicn is probably the busiest month m Jie farmer’s year, your directors considered it advisable with a view to making it more convenient for members to attenrcl the animal meeting, to minime the end ot the financial vear to“riie 30th June, hence the report and balance-sheet which we -ire considering to-day is for a .period of eight months, Ist November, 1932, to doth June, 1933. In moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, 1 regret to have to remind you that during the so.-on just closed, prices for farm produce have reached lower levels than ever seen or anticipated by any of us. This has been the case particularly with dairy produce, which we had always considered our most stable product. This decline in prices has made business very difficult for most financial institutions, jand of these difficulties, we have experienced our share. Notwithstanding the difficult conditions which have prevailed it is encouraging to be able to report a satisfactory increase in business and

although it has been necessary to, grant concessions and further ad-] vances to some of our borrowers, s the position of the loan accounts j calls for no anxiety, the interest and instalment payments have been met .exceptionally well. Your Asso ' cia has made no losses nor is it at! the present time confronted with* anv. This, I think, speaks well fori the care with which loans have been granted and the supervision exercis-, eel over the loan accounts. So far as the progress of your Association is concerned the past eight months has been a decided improvement on the previous year 19311932 ; we made a profit of £5 13s 4ci, for the eight months just closed £ll 3s 6d. The total amount advanced since the inception of the Association is £5335; new advances during the year were four loans totalling £625 In addition, we have made further advances to existing borrowers of £522. A new loan application for £4OO is at present being completed and further advances to existing borrowers are being arranged. The number of shareholders now stands at 32 and _the number of shares subscribed 1055. In keeping with" the Government action in reducing interest charges, the Central Board agreed to reduce the rate of interest from May of this year, consequently the rate to members is now 6 per cent. During the vear, Mr K J. Caverhill, District Public Trustee, Masterton, was appointed to the position of Association Supervisor in place of the late Mr S. J. Smith. The steady progress made by our Association is characteristic of the scheme throughout the country. There are now 43 Associations in operation and the business transacted by the scheme amounts to the substantial sum of £1,000,000. When you take into account the fact that the majority of loans are for small amounts it will be seen j! \v large a business this represents. The question which is exercising the minds of most at the present critical time is l 'l\hat of the future?” Without laying myself open to a charge of unwarranted optimism, I think that you will agree with me when I say that there is evidence of brighter prospects for the primary producer, and that better times can be anticipated. Produce prices seem to have passed their lowest level for a. sufficiently long time to lead us to- believe that the upward trend will continue. The darkest cloud on the economic horizon at the present moment is the prospect of a quota, particularly on our dairy produce on the British market. "There seems to be a considerable amount of obscurity about tins question and what it will mean to us as a country. However undesirable any restriction on the ex-

port oi our produce may be we have to approach the question with open minds to attempt to determine what is to be for our ultimate benefit. Sometimes I feel that a good deal of the information which we receive on this and other marketing questions is of an interested and innatare. Among tin- many expressions of opinion on this matter, one at least to me seems sound, that of His Excellency, Lord Bledis]oe, '‘Trust the Motherland.” Great Britain in the past has treated us both as a Dominion and as producers with fairness and even considers! ion, and I feel certain that many restrictions placed on our exports will be by mutual arrangement and because there is no other alternative. To those of my fellow farmers in need of financial assistance at this critical time, 1 can commend our scheme with every confidence. Our object is to assist farmers and by so doing to maintain the high standing of our Dominion. 1 desire to express my personal thanks and the thanks of this Association to my fellow-directors, to Mr Caverhill (our supervisor), and to Mir Siddells (our secretary) for the assistance they have given me at all times and for the services they have rendered this Association.