WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 8 May 1931, Page 7

WELLINGTON NEWS

DAIRY PRODUCE, MARKET (Special Correspondent).

WELLINGTON, Mav 1G

Dairy fanners will long remember the season of 1930-31 as about the worst in the post-war period, and a season of falling prices. To-day every dairy farmer must be losing money or at least finding it difficult to pay actual current outgo without taking into account farm improvements. Is it any wonder then that they should be several hundred farms—the [Minister of Labour recently named 400—that are neglected, the previous alleged owners or tenants have walked off the place. On tile official grading figures for the three months ended March, and take the average price, it is calculated that the industry was short in income, compared with i.is, year by over a million sterling. That amount of money did not reach the Dominion during the first quarter of the current year and that is one reason why trade is dull, unemployment rife, and adjustments necessary.

Dairying is only one 'contributor, wool and frozen meat have been other contributors to, the internal stringent economic conditions. One can understand that dairying is unprofitable just now on present costs when he looks at the advances on butter fat that producers have received during the season. The official figures are as follows:

The average over the l period is about lOlpl, which is not unsatisfactory as things go now, but it is unprofitable. It would appear that dairying has readied a critical stage. Production lias increased in New Zealand and Australia and it has made rapid strides in Europe. Immediately following the close of last year production was below consumption, and that in itself stimulated production. Readjustments were gradually taking place particularly in Europe. Germany in the early post-war period was an importer of butter and frozen meat. Butter was being imported from Denmark, Holland and Finland. Wo were able to send some of our butter to Canada and oven to the United States. All that is now altered. Germany lias raised the tariff on butter to the point of prohibition, so lias Canada in regard to N.Z. butter, and this has disturbed the trade channels. Denmark Holland and Finland, finding the .German market closed to them, must send their produce to Britain the only free market. The butter that Canada took from us must now he marketed in the United Kingdom. This latter free market is now being loaded up with, dairy produce so that supplies exceed the demand, which has been further restricted through unemployment and heavy taxation. Jii the meanwhile no producing country lies thought of restricting production as is the case with tin and rubber and seme other products. If the position remains unaltered as regards markets, and there is little hope of any important change, what are the producers going to do? They cannot continue as at present for the London q:: nation for butter is well below the j re-war price. Something must he done. No doubt costs can and will he reduced, hut a reduction of 10 per cent or even la per cent will not suffice, because in the one open market available to us there are many competitors, and in the last resort it would not be strange to learn of the Danes living on margarine and exporting butter. We will be unable to stand up to such severe competition. Perhaps in the near future a Conservative Government in Britain may help us with a preferential tariff, hut too much reliance must not he placed on that. Of course we will get over the difficulty in due course, hut it seems that the entire system of dairy farming will undera revolution. Probably future development will ho in the direction of mixed farming to which His Excellency Lord Bledisloe called attention, when officially opening the Massey College at Palmerston. The dairy farmers have not fully exploited rationalisation administrative and operating economies and subsidiary farming. Necessity however will fore them to explore these hitherto neglected avenues for reducing costs and to that extent the. depression will prove to have been usful to the Dominion farmers,

Butter Cheese 1930-31 per lb, per lb. August 1 ... 12d Aid September 1 ... ... lid (Id October 1 ... ioa 5 \ d November 1 Old 5Jd lie: ember 1 ... fld 4,01 January 1 ... l.(kl 4 kl February 1. ,,, ... 10(1 4d March 1 ... lid 4 :!<l April 1 ... 9;[.l 4(1 May 1 ... !)J<1 3 id