WHEAT AND FLOUR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2808, 28 June 1916, Page 6

WHEAT AND FLOUR

BOARD OF TRADE'S REPORT NECESSITY OF REGULATION The lirst interim report of the of 'i'railo covering its investigations in Canterbury, the West Coast, .Nelson, was presented to tho House u( liepreseiilaavus yesterday. Tho report deals chiefly with tee price of wheat, Hour, and bread, and after going very closely into the subject, says. "In considering the. question of reasonableness of the prices prevailing today for wheat, we have corno to the conclusion that although substantially higher than pre-war prices, they are uo higher than prices at which lorcign wheat ctulil be landed iu New Zealand, 'tnd in tills sense they are reasonable. \Ve navo cumo to tho conclusion from the evidence before us, that no proportion of the prices of Hour and bread is attributable lo tl)n existence of definitely constituted 'rings' or close corporations among either ii. liters or muster bakers, but there are evidently opportunities of conference among thos'u cnielly concerned which do in cll'ect commonly lead to concerted action with respect to prices The millers in Christchurcli, comprising tho.-o selling through tho New Zealand Flour ai d Produce Company, Ltd., ami tho ether local millers are, owing to lack or outside competition, able to obtain 'from ills, to JSI per ton more in the Christchureh luurket thaji they can obtain in markets supplied by sea carriage, where ho pi ice ia lixed in competition with mills in other parts of tho Dominion. The Oiifeiencb in tho cost of flour in Christchurcli' and f.o.b. Tiniaru and Lyttcltoii—namely, from IDs. to .£1 per ton—appears 'to be unwarranted." After discussing tbe position ',f Canterbury wheat-growers, tue report sajß it may be a question for the Government to consider; (1) Whether wheat-growing should bo encouraged in Now Zealand. (2) What methods should Le adopted to encourage wheat-growing.' ■ (3) Whether the industry should.be. left to its own resources and the open • competition of other countries. Upon these poiuts the Commission offers no recommendation. The following important paragraph gives tho recommendations of tbe Commission:—"Tile impression left upon our minds is that the distribution of the food supply of the Dominion cannot solely be left in a time of crisis to tho worsing of ail unregulated system of supply and demand; and we consider that tne situation jvs regards prices of, flour and byproducts of wheat should be ilosely and continuously watched with, the aid of returns that should be periodically furnished through tho Government Statistician to the Board of Trade. We therefore recommend that it be enacted that the millers and recognised dealers in grain should be registered with the Board of Tiade, and should furnish from week to week quantities of wheat purchased and the prices paid. Appropriate penalties should be provided for omitting to furnish, or furnishing false returns. It. would be the duty df the board, in conjunction with the Government Statistician, to collate the information thus supplied, and weekly to publish an official quotation of' the actual market prices. At present the leading newspapers publish weekly market quotations, and we are in possession, of evidence that the publication of unreliable information by speculators has oil occasions artificially raised the price of wheat to genuine dealers, and detrimentally affected the industry generally. We further recommend that threshing-mill proprietors be required to register with the Board of Trade, and send weekly returns of quantities of grain threshed to the Government Statistician. Appropriate penalties should be provided for failure to compljv "We have considered the question whether tho fixation of maximum prices by legal enactment for wheat, flour, and bread, or by the method of "recommended prices," whioh was England, would be best suited to 'the conditions here. There are difficulties under both systems, but on tiie~ whole we prefer tho latter method," and suggest that the following table should be the recommended prices, subject to alteration by the Board of Trade, as may be required:—' Bread cash Wheat at mill. Flour f.o.b. at counter; s. d. b. d. £ s. <1. 3 9to — 9 10 G 3 9to 1 0 10 0 6 4 oto 4 3 10 10 6 4 3to 4 G ' 11 5 6i 4 6to 4 9 1115 GJ 4 9to 5 0 12 5 6J 5 oto 5' 3 13 0 7 "The majority of master bakers,' it is pointed out, discourage over-the-counter 'sales of bread by charging the customer in the shop .the same price as for delivery. It is, therefore, recommended that a relative over the counter-price be made compulsory, nnd that it be in accordance with the abovs table, aad at least lid. les3 than the price for delivery. This provision should apply to the four main centres and the secondary towns.".