SELLING POLLARD IN N.Z.

Southland Times, Issue 23991, 5 December 1939, Page 8

SELLING POLLARD IN N.Z.

IMPORTATIONS FROM AUSTRALIA MAINTAINING STABILIZED PRICE (United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, December 4. “The amount of pollard produced in New Zealand,” said the Hon. D. G. Sullivan today as Minister of Supply, “is limited by the amount of wheat which is gristed in New Zealand and this in turn is limited by the amount of flour we can consume. Unfortunately the local demand for both pollard and bran is usually considerably in excess of the local production. We are, therefore, dependent for portion of our supplies on milling offals imported from Australia ” Before the inception of the wheat and flour control scheme, the prices of New Zealand pollard and bran were based on the cost of importing the Australian product, said Mr Sullivan. Thus the farmer requiring milling offals for feeding to fowls, pigs or other stock had to pay a high price for the New Zealand product just because the Australian offals were expensive to land in New Zealand. When the control scheme was brought in nearly four years ago, the prices of New Zealand pollard and bran were stabilized at figures considerably below the landed cost of Australian offals. “It has been estimated that during that time the effect of ‘pegging’ the New Zealand price at the lower figure has meant a saving to Dominion users of pollard and bran of nearly £300,000, continued the Minister. “During all that time it had been necessary to import from Australia at a higher price the excess of pollard required oyer our home-produced supplies. During the last few weeks Australia has for various reasons accumulated a surplus of milling offals and some pollard can now be bought in Australia at less than £4 a ton, f.o.b. Although the cost of transport and handling is high this pc Hard can be landed in New Zealand and sold for 8/- or 9/- a ton below the New Zealand stabilized price. BENEFIT TO FEEDERS “It is not known for how long the price will rule but in order that New Zealand feeders may secure the benefit of the lower Australian price for as long as possible, the Wheat and Flour Controller (Mr R. McPherson) will import all pollard and bran and will sell both Australian and New Zealand pollard at the present New Zealand price. Pollard will be sold by the controller through the usual channels. That is the services of those merchants who in the past have handled Australian offals will continue to be used for the distribution of imported supplies of grain. Merchants have agreed to co-operate with the Wheat and Flour Controller in this scheme for supplying pollard and bran to the pig and poultry industries at the cheapest possible price and have undertaken to assist by forgoing some of their normal remuneration and by carrying out distribution at a low rate of profits. “On the present prices some profit will be made on importations,” said Mr Sullivan, “but this will be set aside in a special fund which will be used to maintain .the stabilized price for as long as possible, even after the Australian price rises. Under this system it will be possible to secure to pollard users not only the benefit of the stabilized price for a longer period, but also all benefits that night accrue through lower prices in Australia. Adequate supplies of . pollard are necessary at the present time to increase production in the pig-raising industry. Pollard is required to raise pigs from the porker to the baconer stage in order to increase the output of bacon. “The prices of barley and pollard in Australia are low at present and though the addition of freight and handling charges makes the price very much higher by the time supplies reach New Zealand, we wish to take advantage of them as much as possible. It is felt that this plan for a stabilized price operating over a relatively long period will be preferable from the user’s point of view to a price which fluctuates in accordance with unknown conditions in Australia and which would leave the buyer uncertain when to buy or in what quantities.”