Primary Industries Left In Bewilderment

Chronicle (Levin), 3 September 1948, Page 5

Primary Industries Left In Bewilderment

WELLINGTON, Sept. 2. It was doubtful if delegates to the Dominion Dairy Conference had ever been called together under such confused economic conditions, said the chairman of the conference, Mr, W. E. llale, when opening today's annual conference. He said Mr. Nash's Budget night announcement depriving primary producers of the lienefit of the whole of the 25 per cent. exchange rate, must luive left the industry in a state of bewiiderment as to its future costs and particularly those for the present season. "The major portion of our manufacturing requisit.es and inachinery have been landed or is in transit to New Zealand, and, we understand, was paid for prior to this unjustified and uiiexpccted angouncement, " he said. The costs eominittee considered the full effect of the alteration in the exchange rate was not likely to lower producers' costs by more than about §d per lb. butterfat. "In any case this will not he a clear gain to the dairy farmer because he is worldng under the guaranteed price system and any reduc.tion in costs will have been talcen into consideration by the commission in fixing the price for .the season/ '■ said

Mr. Hale. It seemed grossly unfair \ that the alteration sliould be timed to occur imniediately after negotiations were completed by tlie Dairy Commission in London for the contract for dairy produce on a seven-vear basis. "The considerable surplus befween tlie payout in New Zealand and realisations in the Uirt'd Kingdom, which the industry agreed to > set ' aside as a cushion against falling prices, has been swept away overnight and it may now be neeessary to dratv on our reserves in order to cover thjs season 's costs," added Mr, Hale. " •'