THE CHEESE POSITION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 April 1939, Page 3

THE CHEESE POSITION

INDUSTRY NOT SATISFIED. REQUEST TO GOVERNMENT. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. A remit asking that the Government make up the difference between butter and cheese’pay-outs for the 193738 season to 2d a lb butterfat as promised was carried by.. 25 votes to 22 at the annual conference of the New Zealand, Dairy Board yesterday. The" industry was not satisfied with the cheese position, said Mr S. A. Ferguson. The Minister had said that the 'cheese industry had not been able io maintain the yield required to get the differential, but he admitted that it had maintained the yield on which the price had been worked out. The price, was fixed on 2.45 and the yield was 2459, At the same time, they had not been able to get the 2d differential over butter. It was maintained, he said, that unless the 2d Could.be obtained it was not worth the. trpuble and expense of supplying cheese. New Zealand provided about 70 per cent of the world’s cheese and the indpsfiy was worth looking after, said Mr J.' Boyce. Last year he knew of three, factories which had closed down, and this year one. If the differential was not to be. paid there ’would be a drift of cheese suppliers to butter. Mr Nash should honour his promise, Mr F. W. Seifert said that if the SCh.e.me were, working out as Mr Nash had suggested it would be possible to get the. 2d. He did not think that the cheese, people, should be paid 2d irrespective of anything else. If they were to get 2d more than the butter companies under any conditions they would get the 2d whether the factories were economic dr not.

Mr E. B. Corbett said that the labour question when milk was produced for cheese was more acute than when it was produced for butter. The tendency in the Waikato, said Mr C. J-'.' Parlane, had been to leave butter and go to cheese. The indications 'were that,,fiv ( e more cheese factories would tie'biierating there. Mr R. O'Connor said that many cheese factories did not justify their existence because they were too small. It would be in the best interests of the Dominion to close them down. Much o£ the discussion had really revolved round uneconomic factories thajt would be better closed down.