THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 67, 16 October 1916, Page 4

THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

Daily farmers in the whole of New Zealand and particularly in the Stratford district, where butter is so largely manufactured, will no doubt be greatly concerned at the action of the Government in adopting the recommendations of the Board of Trade regulating the price of butter so that tho quantity consumed in New Zealand shall be kept down to a price which tho Board considers reasonable. The maximum wholesale price of butter for consumption in New Zealand is now fixed at Is 4d per lb. This means that butter will be retailed at from Is 6d to Is 7d. Dairy companies must pay a license fee before they can export any of their produce, and pay a tax of fd per lb on butter-fat exported, such tax to form a fund which will he utilised to recompense companies who sell butter for local comsumption at a less price than it would realise if shipped to outside markets. As the Board of Trade have fixed the price at Is Id per lb and the present price in London is equal to 180 s per cwt. at the factory, which is equal to Is 7;}d per lb, it means that the local consumer is going to get his butter at 3. l ,d per 11) less than the outside market price. Farmers maintain that it is unjust and unfair to specially tax dairy produce whilst wool and other products of tho land (that have also; equally advanced in price during war conditions) have been allowed to go free, and there is no doubt there are some grounds for this contention. They also contend that admitting the cost of living in towns has increased un<ler war conditions the farmer has also had to pay considerably more for everything lie has had j to purchase in connection with thtej running of his farm. Manures, seeds, wire, agricultural implements, and many other commodities have advanced varyingly from 40 per cent. to 300 per cent, since tli.i war began, and renewals of stock are costing him fully 50 per cent, above normal prices. We still maintain that had an export tax been levied on all tho products of the land as soon as war was declared the present difficulty would not have arisen and in addition it would have been an excellent easily-controlled and equitable form of taxation. Wo are sure no exporter, large or small, would have objected to a reasonable amount being deducted from the value of all produce exported, and this would have tended to bring the farm products consumed locally to a more uniform price with the exported article.