FARM PRODUCE MARKETING

Southland Times, Issue 23819, 17 May 1939, Page 6

FARM PRODUCE MARKETING

Control By Producers Urged POLITICAL DIRECTION CONDEMNED (United Press Association) AUCKLAND, May 16. Control by the producers, instead of by the Government in the marketing of primary produce was urged by the Dominion president (Mr W. W. Mulholland) at the opening of the thirty-ninth provincial conference of the Farmers’ Union. Mr H. M. Rushworth, provincial president, was chairman. Mr Mulholland said that producers today were faced with two issues, the day of independent marketing having passed. This condition was common to other countries too.

Referring to the Government marketing of dairy produce Mr Mulholland said that there was much that was good in it, but the principle was wrong. “It should not be in the hands of a Minister of the Crown,” he said. “Political control of marketing is worse than political control in any other walk of life.”

Learning from what had already occurred, farmers should prepare the necessary organization to take over the marketing of meat if that became necessary— a situation that in view of recent restrictions might come much sooner than expected. Referring to wool, Mr Mulholland said that the auction method of sale was probably the best so far designed, but fluctuations were so great that it was impossible to estimate ahead what the returns would be. In that regard the producers of synthetic fibre had a decided advantage, being able to quote one or two years ahead. “Price fixation is an impossibility, of course,” Mr Mulholland said, “but it is possible to attain some degree of price stabilization with some elasticity.” When in Sydney he had discussed the matter and the conclusion reached had been that what was necessary was an Empire link-up of wool producers as a special entity. This was possible by the establishment of a pool along the lines of the exchange equalization pool operating in Great Britain. This pool would buy wool at the bottom price and sell wool at top prices. In between ordinary trade would operate. Such a pool would over a period of years make enormous profits and effect the desired stabilization of prices.