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manufacturing dairy company to the same as that supplied during the 1942-43 dairying year, and this limitation was intended to make available to merchants and retailers the same amount as in that year. Many of the factories, however, oversold to some of their merchant and retail clients, which had the effect of leaving other merchants and clients in short supply. In many cases the sales were justified on account of increasing population brought about by the return of overseas service personnel and by changes in the population resultant from housing areas in the different localities. Some alterations also were necessary owing to returned servicemen taking up an occupation by establishing new grocery businesses, particularly in new areas, and these had to be ■catered for by an allocation being made. Generally speaking, the consumption per head has kept reasonably within the range of the 1942-43 consumption year. There has, however, been some increase, as indicated above, owing to the return of overseas troops and the release of men from camps in New Zealand. The Division has assisted the Food Controller in the administration of his regulations, and these have worked out so as to provide a reasonable ration to all localities. Owing to the difficulties experienced in the previous year by the overselling by cheese-factories to merchants and retailers, regulations were promulgated bringing cheese into the same category as butter with regard to the return of manufacture and disposal so that the sales of cheese to the different avenues of the trade could be checked up from month to month. This will be an advantage, in that the Food Controller is able to take up with the factories the position being created by an oversupply to merchants or other sources. The local and overseas sales for the six months ended 30th September, 1946, are as follow :

Bobby Calf Pool Operations This branch of the Division's activities has continued to expand steadily, and the interest and co-operation of producers has been most gratifying. During the period under review four additional pools have been formed and two others amalgamated, bringing the total number of pools operating under the regulations to 135. The summary covering the operations of pools for the 1945 season is now complete, and reveals that a total of 822,359 calves were handled by pools for that period. Of this total, 761,000 were passed as suitable for export, while 60,732 were rejected as underweights. The total amount paid to producers was £514,272, representing an average of 12s. 6d. per calf over all calves collected, and, in addition, the Railways Department and various carriers received £69,830 by way of general transport charges, representing an average rate of Is. Bd. per calf. The number of calves rejected through being underweight, 7 per cent., is relatively high when compared with the 1939-40 seasons, when the average percentage was 2 per ■cent, to 3 per cent. This deterioration became very apparent during the war period, when the staffing position was so acute that little supervision could be given to the operations of pools, and consequently it was not until the 1944 season that this deterioration was arrested. Although the 1945 figures indicate an improvement over the 1944 season, it is only by keeping the position constantly before pool authorities that

5

— Local. Imperial Forces. Total. 1946 lb. lb. lb. April .. 1,053,831 208,700 1,262,531 May 1,014,076 143,652 1,157,728 June 987,928 Nil 987,928 July 746,256 Nil 746,256 August 640,925 Nil 640,925 September 718,373 Nil 718,373 Total 5,161,389 352,352 5,513,741