MENACE OF QUOTA PLAN

Taranaki Daily News, 16 August 1934, Page 4

MENACE OF QUOTA PLAN

WHAT DOES BRITAIN MEAN?

ENCOURAGEMENT OF PRODUCERS. MARGARINE ON THE CONTINENT. SUGGESTIONS BY MR. L. J. RUNDLE. While congratulating suppliers on the increase of butter-fat, said Mr. L. J. Rundle, chairman of the Bell Block Dairy Company, in the course of his address at the annual meeting last night, it was lamentable that they should have to think of such a thing as a quota. It was all very well for the British Government to talk of the necessity for bolstering up the British farmer; there might be something in that, but he considered there was a more cogent reason. It would be remembered that during the Great War Britain was left in a rather serious position with regard . to foodstuff owing to agriculture not being carried on to any great extent in Britain. The Imperial Government was now endeavouring to ensure that in the event of another war Britain would be more self-contained, and it was therefore encouraging agricultural pursuits. Suppliers had realised the menace of the quota through the restrictions on bobby calves, and particularly on cull cows, which were now worth practically nothing, continued the chairman. He considered that in bringing the quota into operation it would be a very difficult problem to bring it back proportionate to the individual supplier. It had been suggested that in the event of a quota extra cold storage accommodation should be built for the produce that was not allowed to be shipped. He, however, was strongly opposed to building any more cold storage accommodation until it was certain that the produce stored would go into immediate consumption. If a quota was introduced, on cheese or butter, the produce certainly could not be held in cold storage indefinitely. Mr. Rundle said that with the low prices the consumption of butter in Great Britain had increased enormously. Five or six vears ago the consumption of butter was 4500 tons weekly, whereas at present it had increased to 10,000 tons ot butter weekly. That increase had been largely at the expense of margarine, which had decreased from a third to a half. It would be realised that while the price of butter was low margarine could not be marketed to the same extent, but if the price of butter were to rise to any extent margarine would come into its own again and the consumption of butter would decline. • While the consumption of butter in Germany was very small that country consumed 500,000 tons of margarine annually. Denmark also consumed very large quantities of margarine and exported its butter to England. The British Government could take action in that direction. It could point out to those countries that butter was being sold locally at 2s 6d and 2s 9d and exported to be sold in England at 9d. It should also be intimated that those countries should have to reduce the prices of their produce on their own markets before they were allowed to export to Britain. That would result in a big increase in consumption in those countries, with the result that they would not export so much.