GUARANTEED PRICES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 250, 22 October 1936, Page 6

GUARANTEED PRICES

AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT "WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT SUCCEED” VIEW OF FARMERS’ PRESIDENT The recently-formed Primary Products Marketing Act, whereby the farmer gets what is termed a "guaranteed” price for butterfat and which provides for further scope for State action in regard to "guaranteed” prices for other forms of produce, was touched on yesterday by Mr. W. W. MuHholland, Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, in an address delivered in Wanganui. He said that, despite the Government’s expressed intention to give farmers an artificial price to meet artificially increased costs, that had not been done. The Primary Products Maiketing Act, he said, contained no inflationary provisions at all. That 4 did not mean that the Act could not be used in conjunction with some other legislatory provision to bring abrut inflation of prices, but the Act itself was merely a compulsory pool run by Government officials and in which the industry had no say in regard to management. It was aimed at smoothing out the fluctuations in prices which occurred from season to season While the speaker did not think that the whole of such fluctuation could be overcome, he felt that if the legislation was successful in curtailing it it would be of benefit to farmers. There was nothing more harmful to farmers than fluctuating prices. "I* is a measure which, frankly, I jwould like to see succeed,” Mr. Mullholland stated. ‘lt is a most interesting experiment, and I say, quite frankly, that I would like to see it. succeed. I repeat, however, that it is not carrying out the Government s policy of guaranteed prices to meet artificially increased costs.”