FARM PRODUCTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 December 1939, Page 3

FARM PRODUCTS

PURCHASES FOR BRITAIN AMOUNTS PAID OUT IN NEW ZEALAND. STERLING FUNDS INCREASE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Amounts paid by the New Zealand Government for purchases of sheepskins, wool, meat and dairy produce since the completion of agreements for the resale of these commodities to the United Kingdom were announced by the Minister of Marketing, Mr Nash, in an address last night. They are as follows: —Sheepskins, £107.000; wool, £1,342.000; meat. £750.000; dairy pro-

duce, £6,500,000. The Minister said there were one or two other items about which the Government was negotiating with the British authorities. The hides, skins and tallow negotiations were not yet completed and the Government, was also still discussing the question of scheelite, which contained a product which was used for hardening steel. Referring to wool. Mr Nash said the British Government paid for it within about two weeks of the appraisement of value, and thereafter the carriage and disposal of the wool was a matter for the British Government. The arrangements made for payment for the wool had gone very smoothly indeed, and ho was sure that woolgrowers who had delivered their wool for appraisal appreciated the satisfac-

tory nature of the payments. In one case there had been a slight delay when it was not possible to make the payments for appraised wool by the actual prompt date. The United Kingdom Government had requested the immediate shipment of wool, as they were in urgent, need of it. Though, at that time the agreement for sale to the United Kingdom Government had only just been reached, and the necessary arrangements for appraisal were not completed, ships were already waiting, and, to enable them to load, the position was met by the car-rying-out of an appraisal at Auckland on the type schedule only. This was followed b}’ a similar and simultaneous appraisal at Wellington and Napier. No matter how difficult it might be, they could not afford either to hold up a ship or send it away unless it was fully loaded. Discussing butter and cheese, the Minister said that purchase arrangements had ‘gone along very smoothly indeed, for the machinery for buying was already 'there in the form of the New Zealand Government’s Marketing Department. The Reserve Bank ratio was higher today than it had been for more than 12 months. That was good news.

The increase in sterling was due to the fact that the United Kingdom Government had now paid the balance for butter and cheese in the United Kingdom or on its way there when war broke out. The amount involved was £1.700,000. and that was in addition to a payment of £2.000,000 made a few weeks ago. That would ease the worry a little. Altogether the Government had paid out to dairy factories for this season's butter and cheese £6.500,000. Negotiations were taking place with the United Kingdom almost daily to see if it were not possible to send some New Zealand fruit overseas.