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Australia Australia has a national system of price stabilization for dairy-produce and wheat. Approximately 50 per cent, of total dairy-production is consumed locally, but wheat is an important export item. The Commonwealth Government guarantees a price for wheat marketed through approved organizations on the basis of an index of production costs. Exports are included in the guarantee up to a limit of 100,000,000 bushels. A stabilization fund financed by a tax on export wheat protects growers in the event of the average sales price falling below the guaranteed price. This stabilization plan, which was introduced in 1948, will operate for five years and at the end of three years the fund will be reviewed. If it is considered too high in relation to ruling prices, refunds will be made to growers. At present export prices are just ahead of the guaranteed price, the difference being accentuated by depreciated currencies. The principle of maintaining some measure of price stability in the dairy industry has obtained for a number of years. The local price of butter was held at a level above the export price, the difference being used to increase the over-all return. Since 1943 the Government has accepted the principle that dairy-farmers should receive prices in line with production costs. Periodic cost surveys are made by the Joint Dairying Industry Advisory Committee, consisting of four farmer and four Government representatives. All returns from the sales of butter and cheese, whether internal or exported, are equalized and a subsidy is paid to bring the equalized price up to the guaranteed price. This is necessary at present because, as in New Zealand, the local price of butter is being maintained at a level much below export parity. A Dairying Industry Stabilization Fund is being built up as f.o.b. values permit. Because of certain clauses in the Constitution of the Commonwealth regarding inter-State trade, it is not possible for any Government body to regulate trade between States. This has been overcome by the voluntary formation of a private company, the Commonwealth Dairy Produce Equalization Committee, Ltd., which administers the equalization of the price and the payment of the subsidy and generally acts as a link between the Australian Dairy Produce Board, which handles all exports of butter and cheese, and the State Boards, which regulate marketing within their own States. Canada Canada, in addition to other farm products, exports about 70 per cent, of its wheat crop, a significant proportion of live-stock products, an,d potatoes. Production and exports are high in relation to the population; hence any price-support programme on a scale comparable to that operating in the United States is impracticable. Realistically, the Canadians have emphasized the necessity for keeping costs and marketing charges as low as possible. Nevertheless, during the war, an Act aimed at support of agricultural prices was introduced and was to operate until March of this year. The operation of this Act has since been extended and provides that producers of any agricultural commodity, except wheat, can turn for assistance to a Board of three members, consisting of two producer representatives and a Department of Agriculture official acting as chairman. The Board has at its disposal a fund of $200,000,000, maintained at that amount by annual appropriations. The general task of the Board is to endeavour to secure adequate and stable returns for agriculture and to maintain a fair relationship between the returns from agriculture and those from other occupations. Representatives of producers of a particular commodity or commodity group make representations to the Board, which studies the situation and either rejects the application or recommends to the Government that assistance be given. In the latter case it will also recommend a prescribed price and the amount of assistance as well as the

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