IMPORTING OF WHEAT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1038, 31 July 1930, Page 12

IMPORTING OF WHEAT

“DUTY QN BRITISH PRODUCT SHOULD BE REVISED” Government criticised That there should be no extension of existing agreements regarding wheat and flour and that the duty on British Empire wheat and flour should be substantially revised downward and the sliding scale abolished, were recommendations by the Importers’ and Exporters’ Committees of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce discussed at a meeting of the council this morning. “The Government has no right to support such a duty when the country is faced with so much unemployment and a serious trade depression,” said Mr. Lunn. “It is unscientific and uneconomic and the position should be brought before the Government for an alteration in the duty.” Mr. W. A. Bouoher claimed that even with the huge protection there was a serious decline in the use of wheat. According to the report, the grounds for the suggestion were, firstly, that the world's parity of wheat at present was in the neighbourhood of 4s. It was quoted in England from foreign ports at 4s Id, hut, owing to the slid-ing-scale imposed by the New Zealand Government, the Dominion was compelled to face the price of Us f*d a bushel for imported wheat, without considering any freight or landing costs. This, on the present world’s prices, __ represented a duty of well above 50 per cent. This must necessarily be looked upon as excessive, when it was realised that wheat formed the basis of the main foodstuff of the country, and the influence of wheat duties shown by the fact that even so long ago as April. 1929, when the differences of the New Zealand price for wheat and world’s parity were not so great, bread was sold in London at 4sd, while the price of a 21b loaf in Wellington was 6£d. “It should be obvious that it is impossible to maintain this artificial standard for a commodity and, though we realise it may be necessary to pay some duty on wheat, it certainly should not be at a. rate, that no manufacturer would dare to ask for,” the report added.