THE PRICE OF BREAD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11670, 10 April 1916, Page 3

THE PRICE OF BREAD.

FARMERS PIEAIT NOT GUILTY." DISCUSSION BY TIMARU FARMERS' UNION. [FnoM OrR Cotirespoxj»;xt.] TIMARU, April 8. Mr John Talbot, chairman of the Timaru brnuch of the Farmers' Union, informed Hint body to-day that ho had gircn evidence .-it the inquiry held hy the Hoard of Trade in Timaru. He had stated that wheat was now about •Is Od and Hour about £l2 a ton. There did not seem a 'groat discrepancy between tho price of wheat and tho price r.f flour. Tho discrepancy was between the cost of flour and the price of broad. A ton of flour produced (340 loaves, which sold. ab.nearly double the cost 02 tho flour used to make'them. The fault lay in tho distribution. 'Wheat 011 tho London market was 8s and- bread sold at 7\d. Mr Hart said that when flour ,was £lB a ton, bread sold at lOd, and there was not a proportionate decreaso in the present price of broad. The chairman said that if the price of wheat were to bo fixed by tho Government the-minimum should be 4s 6d, asjt would not nay to grow it for less. Ml M'ComlM had stated that judging from past experience it would pay farmers to crow wheat at 4s, but Mr M'Comba did "not take into account that tho cost of production had nearly doubled, Mr Radford said that in view or tho increase of the frozen meat industry, wheat growing: would soon be abandoned bv many of the fanners. Speaking at. another- st<age of tho meeting, Mr Talbot remarked' that farmers should not be too eager to put their wheat on the market. Fivo shillings should be got for it. but the position was doubtful. He did not suppose that such a largo area would be sown down in wheat next year. If this year s crop bad been normal, thero would have been two or three million bushels to exnort, and as there would have been no'means of exporting it all the price would have been about 2-s 6d a bushel. It was a question on which farmers should go easy- . ______