SUGAR SUPPLIES

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 223, 15 June 1921, Page 6

SUGAR SUPPLIES

EXPIRY OF THE CONTRACT s THE QUESTION OF FUTURE PRICE The contract under which New Zealand is being supplied with sugar will expire at the end of this month, and the terms of a new arrangement have been receiving consideration lately. Tho existing contract, which has a period of one year, provides "for the supjily of sugar of a certain quality by tho Colonial Sugar Company to the New Zealand Government at about .£l7 per ton.( This price permits of retail sales being made to tho consumers at 6d. per- pound. When the contract was made a year ago the price was below the world-value of sugar, and until about March of thia year Hie people of the Dominion continued to get their sugar for less than they would have had to pay if they had gone into the open market. But during recent months there has been a severe slump in the sugar market, and To-day sugar from Java and Cuba could be landed in New Zealand for substantially less than the Government is paying under the contract for Fijian sugar. The fact has been made the basis of a report that the Government intended to prohibit tho importation of Javan sugar. it Dominion reporter who made inquiries on the subject yesterday gathered that the Government is not likely to make any such prohibition. There is nothing to prevent any trader buying tho cheaper sugar and giving consumers the advantage of it. It has boen stated that a certain firm has offered the Government 5000 tons of Java sugar at .£23 10s. per ton landed in Auckland. This otatement appears to be incorrect, although it is admitted that importations at a comparatively cheap rate are possible. In any case, the official view is tnat it would not bo sound policy for the Government to make such a purchase. Java sugar has been costing over l£loo per ton within tho period covered by the present contract, and its price evi dently ia subject to violent fluctuations. There is no guarantee that it will long remain cheaper than Fijian sugar. If la - generally anticipated that the Government will conclude a new contract wife, the Colonial Sugar Company, and that there will bo some reduction on the present price. The reduction ma> not reach the consumers immediately, since there are stocks of sugar produced under the present contract to be disposed of. The advantages of a contract, from tho point of view of the consumers, include a secure supply, a fixed price, and a guarantee of quality. New Zealand during tho last twelve months has not had fo"btd against other countries for sugar in time of scarcity; it has got its sugl >.- at less than the average world -price, and has been given a quality of sugar suitu’blo for all purposes. Much of the cheaper sugar that is mentioned is ur> suitable for jam-making, for example.