HIGH WHEAT DUTIES

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 10, 4 August 1930, Page 3

HIGH WHEAT DUTIES

-ATTACK BY AUCKLAND MEN . DOWNWARD REVISION URGED. The sliding-scale "duties on wheat and flour were strongly attacked in a report presented to the council of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on Thursday fronv« a joint. meeting of the exporters' anct Jjjmporters' committees of the chambe#i| council,endorsed the committees' expressed opinion "that there should be HjKpiterisi'ori of existing agreements re;iarding wheat and flour and that the duty on British%npire. wheat and flopr should be substantially revised downward and the sliding scale abolished." The s^pbrlf:stated: "The grounds for our art, • ■ that the world's parrty of wheat at present is in the neighbourhood of 4s a bushel. It is quoted. in.,.Engiand from foreign por.ts at 4s I'd I ..biif 'owing to the sliding scale imposed ""fey the'New ZeaTarid Government, no matter what fall in prices may benefit the rest <# the world, New Zealand is compelled, tb face the price of 6s 9d per bushel'"fdrti;ihiported wheat, without considering,'any freight or landing costs. This,, piaJne present world's prices, repreIhW,n>usi, necessarily bs looked upon as it is realised that wheat forms thetbasis of the main foodstuff of the whor/cpuintry. ...-; , i IrfSuence of the Duties. ; of wheat 'duties is' faqt that even so long ago the differences of |fie\.N^v» : price for wheat and ,^&i|||(^tity v not so great, bread %te%K.iu Loiidon at 4id, while the ; singular to reflect that at the s^rrp^ige' 1 butter was selling in London at aMiCcr lb., while in Wellington the price Ppas 18jd. It should be obvious that ft" is impossible to maintain this standard for a commodity such as .wjjeat, and although we realise it may be necessary to pay some duty on wheat it certainly should not be at a rate such ■uliat'hb manufacturer would dare to ask

for. "The point made by this chamber, before the 7 ;duties on the sliding scale were imposed, %as that the scheme of a slid-irig-scale iduty was.liable to break down at .any tir%s, since the higher duties would inevitably lead in the first instance to over-prodiietion, resulting in a 'pool,' dumping overseas, or something on the Paterson scherhe model, followed by reduced "|%wir|gs in subsequent years. This is be correct from the figures givefe'A;^| i Herald of July 10, where, according^a.official estimates for the annual requirenient of about 8,500.000 bushels cf Wheat for all purposes, the harvest of 1928 produced a surplus of 1,000,000 bushels. During 1929'this surplus was reduced to 300,000 bushels, whereas this year there is an apparent deficiency of 12,000 bushels, which seemingly ratmcates' that "we must import a considerably greater quantity than last yeaiv" yv ?.'*(;< , Jlasdship on\Poultry Farmeis. The report referred to the hardship of high' wheat prices on poultry farmers and '-''those raising pigs. In a time of generally ; tailing prices, it added, a stabilised ;price for wheat must bring steadily-increasing profits to the growers arid put an increasing burden on the rest of the community, thus hindering economic recovery. 'Mr. A. G. Lunn, in moving that the committee's opinion b:- endorsed, said the New :i growers' demands were in defiance%fi*.economic conditions. They knew, well?/$f&t if they' asked for a stralght-oiij|> protective duty of 50 . per cent. theyjl'.Wpuld n6t get it. Mr. Vl/'A'. Boucher said flour was at £9 ios*a*«&, '.f.ofi. Sydney, and £lB 15s in New Zealand'.'! 1 Mr. G. PiriA:' The Sydney price is the lowest fcr many/years. ' Mr. Boucher: The growers are not entitled to a continuance of the duty. Even with this huge protection there has been a serious decline in the production of wheat.;,. The motion was carried.