POOR SEASON

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20013, 11 August 1939, Page 4

POOR SEASON

DROP IN OUTPUT WAIROA DAIRY COMPANY ACTIVITIES REVIEWED (Special to the Herald.) WAIROA, this day. “The season was a very poor one from the company’s point of view, the total output in round figures being SCO tons, as against 753 tons last year, a drop of 25.6 per cent. A disquieting feature, apart from the extremely bad seasonal conditions, is the number of cases where herds have had to be reduced owing to the difficulty of obtaining suitable labour in competition with other relatively more attractive occupations,” stated the chairman of directors of the Wairoa Co-operative Dairy Company, Mr. A. T. Carroll, in his report to be presented at the annual meeting of suppliers of the company on Friday, August 18.

The estimated season-average payout per pound of butterfat (all grades) for the 1937-38 season, added the report was 14.6537 d. This was the actual average pay-out to shareholders, while non-shareholders received an average pay-out of 12.7787(3., the actual season-average pay-out for all suppliers being 14.6296 d. This year an advance was made of Is lid per pound for finest grade to shareholders and Is Id to non-shareholders, and a further payment was made on July 20, 1939, of Id per pound on all butterfat supplied for the season. Stocks of butter unsold at balance date had been valued at market price, less Government differential. On this basis there was £6909 15s Id to be credited to the appropriation account. This amount, together with £193 17s 41d brought forward from the previous season, had been dealt with as shown in the appropriation account, leaving a net balance of £4764 19s available for distribution.

It was proposed to make a further deferred payment to shareholders on August 20, 1939, of l.ld (1 l-10d), per pound of butterfat supplied, bringing this season’s estimated average payout up to 15.3777 d for all grades of butterfat. This payment wbuld absorb approximately £4712, leaving a balance of approximately £53 to be carried forward.

The estimated total amount of the cream cartage costs incurred by suppliers individually was £2250, which represented 0.5202 d per pound on the total number of pounds of butterfat received by the company in cream from all sources. London Loan In 1930, continued the report, when the exchange was in the company’s favour by 10 per cent, a loan of £7500 was raised in London to assist dairy farmers with their finances, the company making' an apparent profit, after payment of expenses, of £721 17s' 6d. The exchange later moved to 25 per- cent to a disadvantage, so that the company now had to find a further £2025 11s 6d in Order to pay off the loan of £7500, plus interest capitalised. The directors were fortunate in being able to make this transfer of funds just a day or two previous to the Government’s exchange control legislation coming into force early in December. After deduction of the original apparent profit of £721 17s Cd there was a net loss of £1303 14s. In view of the large deficit in the Government's dairy industry account, it would appear that the guaranteed price would not have an upward tendency, so it was thought wise to write off the whole amount out of the year’s workings, rather than make deductions from future years, when perhaps suppliers would be less in a position to withstand them. Local Sales Increased Local sales increased from 2761 tons last year to 361 tons this year. The average grade of butter exported was 94.7096 —a result which could only be achieved by continued efforts on the part of suppliers to maintain the quality of the raw product. The Hawke’s Bay Co-operative Farm Products, Limited, which was the company’s own co-operative local butter distributing company, continued to flourish exceedingly, the cost Of distributing the 361 tons having befen £l3Bl, as compared with £IB2B which would have been payable to a proprietary distributing company.

Suppliers would be gratified with the first full year's operations of the general store portion of the company’s business. After paying all expenses such as repairs and maintenance, and interest and depreciation on the old factory buildings, the store was able to make a rebate of 5 per cent on total purchases (excluding fertilisers) for the first half of the year, and it was proposed to make a similar rebate for the second half, on August 20, the balance of £lll 19s 5d being carried , to a store reserve account.

Sundry debtors showed a decrease on last year of £1032 14s sd. The retiring directors wer e Messrs. D. D. Pryde and K. J. Shaw, both of whom were eligible and again offered their services to the shareholders. In conclusion +h e company wished to record appreciation of the loyalty shown by the suppliers and by the factory and office staffs throughout tiie year and of the lively interest evinced by the press at all times in matters affecting the industry.