PRIMARY PRODUCE PRICES

Taranaki Daily News, 16 October 1931, Page 12

PRIMARY PRODUCE PRICES

PROSPECTS OF THE FUTURE.

MR. C. D. DICKIE’S OBSERVATIONS. The prophecy that New Zealand dairy farmers could scarcely expect more than Is a pound for butter-fat for some time was made by Mr. C. D. Dickie in an address to the Tokaora Farmers’ Union last night. Mr. Dickie, who was recounting his observations on his recent trip to England, pointed out that competition in the butter trade was increasing owing to the lower prices of beef and wool. It looked as if New Zealand had a good hold on the cheese market, however, provided the quality was maintained. Prospects for beef were very bad but were brighter for lamb and mutton as there would be no carry-over this season. Pork would probably be ‘’all right,” but the bacon position was not good as he had seen Polish bacon selling for 3d a pound in London. Mr. Dickie considered that going off the gold standard temporarily was all to the good as it would prevent the importing of goods from countries still on the gold standard. For example, America had begun dumping pork but would no longer be able to do so. The move would give a fillip to industry and encourage the buying of New Zealand products by circulating wages instead of doles.

It seemed to him that Russia was going to be a serious competitor in the butter trade, though some English firms did not think so. There had been a lot of propaganda against Soviet produce, but some Tooley Street men were of the opinion that this only tended to put people off any butter, no matter where produced, in favour of margarine. Dairying was on the increase everywhere ‘in Australia. Queensland was mostly a beef part but would soon have to turn its attention to butter owing to the low’ prices. In West Australia farmers were already breaking into dairying. There was a general feeling of relief in England, said Mr. Dickie, that New Zealand had abandoned standardisation.