GUARANTEE FOR DAIRY PRODUCE

Southland Times, Issue 23839, 9 June 1939, Page 8

GUARANTEE FOR DAIRY PRODUCE

Minister’s Price Not Acceptable COMMITTEE’S FIGURE FAVOURED PROTEST AGAINST ACTION OF MR NASH (Special to The Times) DUNEDIN, June 8. The view was expressed by the South Island Dairy Association today that the guaranteed price offered by the Min—ister of Marketing (the Hon. W. Nash) was unacceptable and that the price suggested by the Advisory Committee should be the one fixed for next season. The executive submitted the following resolution on the subject: (1) This conference protests against the action of the Minister of Market-, ing in not accepting the COl }£lusions arrived at unanimously by the 19oa Guaranteed Price Advisory Committee and in reducing the prices which the committee recommended should be paid to the industry for butter and cheese for the present season. (2) The conference cannot accept the Minister’s suggestion that the price fixed by the Government for the current season should be continued for the 1939-40 season. It considers, that to give effect to the provisions of the Primary Products Marketing Act and to do justice to the producer the prices'to be paid for the 1939-40 ; season should be the prices recommended by the 1938 Advisory Committee, with the addition of all ascertainable increases in costs since the committee’s report was presented. It is prepared, however, in order to assist the Minister in his efforts to stabilize costs, to forgo the increases in costs and to accept for the 193940 season the prices recommended by the Advisory Committee for the 1938-39 season. NO EXPLANATION NEEDED The chairman (Mr H. H. Meredith), in moving the remit, said it needed no explanation. It had been brought forward as a result of the Minister of Marketing’s refusal to approve the recommendations of the Advisory Committee. The Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. Lee Martin) had asked them that morning to believe that costs werenot as high as they were said to be. They as farmers, however, all knew that costs had risen since the price of dairy produce was fixed 12 months ago, and no one knew what the position would be in the next 12 months. As a conference, they must put forward their best efforts to show the Minister, that they did not accept his offer. Other people could strike if their demands, were not met, but such a course was impossible for dairy farmers. It had been suggested as a way out, but they all knew it was impracticable and that all that was left to them was to keep on working for a higher price. The motion was seconded by Mr W. Hamilton (Awarua), who said that the Advisory Committee’s recommendations should be adhered to. The committee had gone into all the relevant facts and considerations and had reached a well-informed decision. The remit was carried. Concerning cheese prices, the following remit was carried: “This conference considers it is essential in the interests of the industry that suppliers of milk to cheese factories should receive at least 2d per lb butterfat more than the suppliers of cream to butter factories and requests the Minister of Marketing to fix guaranteed prices for butter and cheese respectively at such amounts as will enable the average cheese factory to pay its suppliers 2d per lb more than the average butter factory.”