WHEAT PRICES.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16433, 29 January 1919, Page 8

WHEAT PRICES.

THE ALLEGED "BREACH OP FAITH."

the minister interviewed,

At the latest held meetW 0 f th» executive of the .North Canterbury Far! mors' I nion .1 ioniewhal heated discus, sion took pine, relative to the pries of the present reason', wheat as guaranteed l.y tho Govern men*, the allocation being made that on the C ve of hnrvost- the Government apparently was prepared to break faith with the farming community and to tako the wheat at a pnoo below what it had promised when the wheat was put into the ground. "The whole position is this," said tli* Hon, W. D. S. MaeDonald, ilhaX of Agriculture, to a representative of llie Press who referred to these allegallons, "the Government's nffor m»-lj »■«»&,«. 2d, after the conlereuce with the wheat growers it was decided not to differ «ntiaw tho grades and to mak Q the price bs Id with a free market. On the Government s calculation the price of wheat imported irom Australia-wheat of equivalent quality to New Zealand whoa t—would oe C« (3d. and after very careful consideration it was decidod to fix the price of milling wheat for tho present season a t 6s fid. For tho 1919. 20 season tlio prices guaranteed areas 6d fis Sd, and os lOd, with a free market; these prices are absolutely guaranteed. 1 think that the real difficulty between tho New Zealand wheatgrower and the Government is that the wheatgrowers are of opinion that the , price should be <3s 6d plus the duty which is about Sd per bushel. But the Government never imposed the duty of 9d per cental for revenue purposes; it was imposed for the protection of the fanners of New Zealand when wheat was low m value and Australian wheat could be imported to the Dominion and sold at very low prices. At a time, such as the present, when wheat has reached, practically, tho highest-record-ed price in the Dominion, then the Government decided that as regards the imposition of duty on imported wheat it was their own concern, and, of course, the concern of the consumer. I gav at once , that the .farmers of the Dominion responded magnificently to tho Government s appeal to grow wheat, and tho farmers cannot oe held responsible for climatic conditions and bad seasons. I - have been blamed for importing wheat but it was impossiblo for the Government to allow supplies to I tall below the requirements of the people—and at present we are close to that. And the outlook in respect to importation from Australia, with the epidemic gaining ground , there, makes things assume a rather serious aspect as far as New Zealand , is concerned. "Whilst the fanner has not got the free maximum, he will , reel the benefit m many ways later on when things become normal. lam , not prepared to say that tho fanner has got the absolute value, but I was hopeful that we had got near enough for an adjastmeiit between tho two parties." Mr Mac Donald here drew a comparison between the experience of countries Ji ke Great Britain and France and New Zealand in connexion with fixing the price of "the staff of life." Mr Mac Donald had the ooportunity recently of discussing the sufiject with M. Henri Corbiere. of the French Mission, who described what the British and French Governments did in the matter. Having decided that the co6t of tho loaf wae not to exceed 9d or lOd, irrespeotivo of the cost of the wheat purchased by the Government the difference between the cost of the wheat and what, was received for bread was made up by contributions from tho Consolidated Fund. In New Zealand, Mr MacDonald pointed out, ho, as Minister charged with the duty of fixing the price of wheat, had to rely on endeavouring to adjust pricK between tho Government and the tnieat grower, and tho consumer, and, of course, he did not have the assistance of the Consolidated Fund. "The great trouble has been," continued Mr Mac Donald, "that, unfortunately, for three years the farmers have not had yields of wheat anything like the average. If this season's crops turn out _ well —if they approach the average yield of the ten years prior to the war—6s 6d per bushel will be very nearly np to the paying price, as far as one can 6ee. But you never can toll with crops, apd that is why the farmer has to take many risks that others are not called on to take who have not to deal with the elements, and with climatic conditions. On the other hand, under present conditions, the wheat grower Tia« a market for every bushel he produces. In . other years when there nave been good yields, the £?Tain lias had to be stacked; sometimes a farmer had three years grain in hand, and usually one season's crop was not 6old before the next season's was in." . This momine, before leaving for Dunedin, the Minister will meet mem- , bers of the Farmers' Union executive to discuss matters connected with the price of wheat. ,