BRAN AND POLLARD

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20112, 5 December 1939, Page 13

BRAN AND POLLARD

AUSTRALIAN IMPORTS SALE AT N.Z. PRICE BENEFIT TO USERS (Per Press Association.) CHRLSTCH..;RCI-I. this day. “The amount, of pollard produced in New Zealand," said the Minister of Supply, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, “is limited by the amount of wheat which is gristed in New Zealand and this, in turn, is limited by the amount of flour we can consume. “Unfortunately the local demand for both pollard and bran is usually considerably in excess of local production. We are therefore dependent for a portion of our supplies on milling ofl'als imported from Australia. “Before the inception of the wheat and flour control scheme, the prices of New Zealand pollard and bran were based on the cost of importing the Australian product. Thus a farmer requiring milling ofl'als for feeding to fowls, pigs or other stock had to pay u high price for the New Zealand product just because the Australian offals were expensive to land in New Zealand.

When the control scheme was brought in nearly four years ago, the prices of New Zealand pollard and bran were stabilised at figures considerably below the landed cost of the Australian offals. It had been estimated that during that time the effect of “pegging” the New Zealand price at the lower figure had meant a saving to Dominion users of pollard and bran of nearly £300,000. During all of that time it had been necessary to import from Australia at higher price the excess pollard required over our home produced supplies.

1 Australian Surplus “During the last few weeks Australia has, for various reasons, accumulated a surplus of milling offals and some pollard can now be bought at lest than £4 a ton f.o.b. in Australia. Although the cost of transport and handling is high, this pollard can be landed in New Zealand and sold for 8s or 9s a ton below the New Zealand stabilised price. It is not known for how long the lower price will rule, but in order that New Zealand feeders may secure the benefit of the lower Australian price for as long ! as possible, the wheat and flour controller will import all pollard and bran and will sell both Australian and New Zealand pollard at the present New Zealand price. The pollard will be sold by the controller through the usual channels —that is, the services of those merchants who, in the past, have handled Australian ofl'als, will continue to be used for the distribution of imported supplies of grain. “The merchants have agreed to cooperate with the wheat and flour controller in this scheme for supplying pollard and bran to the pig and poultry industries at the cheapest possible price, and have undertaken to assist by foregoing some of their normal remuneration and by carrying out the distribution at a low rate of profit. Profits to be Set Aside

“On tiie present prices, some profit will be made on importations, but this will be set aside in a special fund which will be used to maintain the stabilised price for as long as possible even after the Australian price rises. Under this system it will be possible to secure to pollard users not only the benefit of the slabilised price for a longer period, but also all the benefits that might accrue through lower prices in Australia.

“Adequate supplies of pollard are necessary at the present time to increase production in the pig industry. Pollard is required to raise pigs from the porker to the baconer stage in order to increase the output of bacon. The prices of barley and pollard in Australia are low at present and, though the addition of freight and handling charges make the price very much higher by the time the supplies reach New Zealand, we wish to take advantage of them as much as possible. It is felt that this plan for a stabilised price operating over a relatively long period will be preferable from the users’ point of view to a price which fluctuates iii accordance with unknown conditions in Australia and which would leave the buyer uncertain when to buy or in what quantities.”