BUTTER AND TIMBER.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3592, 2 October 1920, Page 5

BUTTER AND TIMBER.

A correspondent in Invereargill sends the following letter to the Lyttelion Times, which thinks it should be given special prominence. He says: "A committee of the House of Representatives is engaged in taking evidence with a view to deciding whether the price of butter in New Zealand should be based on the cost of production or on the price realisable on the London -market., The butter producers contend that they arc entitled to taTJe full advantage of trie scarcity of butter in the world, and demand from the consumers, whether in London or New Zealand, the highest price competition will bring. Now the butter producers themselves have already induced the New Zealand Government to decide the question at issue. About a couple of years ago there was a strong and increasing demand for New Zealand white pine on the part of Australian bu'iter and,, cheese producers. The New Zealand factories were afraid this demand would jeopardise their own supplies, and so they induced the Government to pass regulations prohibiting the ex- j port of more than a certain amount j of white pine per quarter, and a't ; the same time fixing a price for it j in New Zealand. There was, of course, an alternative method, open to the local factories for securing their supplies, namely, by outbidding the Australian buyer, but this method did aot commend itself to the N<ew Zealand i usei- of white pine. The New Zealand sawmiller is how in this position: He' must reserve a certain proportion of his output for local consumption, and; he must not eiiargel for it more than a certain fixed price, despite the fact that the Australian buyer would gladly pay him a considerably higher price. We rrive, therefore, at this very remarkable position: The New Zealand butcher producer contends that he ought to be allowed to sell his butter to the highest bidder, but that the sawmiller must not allowed re do likewise with his timber: and the New Zealand' GovermuMit is engaged in inquiring whether it is a fair thing to base the pricfe of" butter in New Zealand on the cost of production, although it has already decided that the price of timber must be so fixed. 7 ' _______________ i