PRODUCE FOR EXPORT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 May 1940, Page 7

PRODUCE FOR EXPORT

PURCHASE BY THE CROWN MAXIMUM OUTPUT ESSENTIAL. MR NASH'S ASSURANCE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. "The Government will buy all that is produced for export, and it wishes production to be increased in all lines, more particularly in pig meat and cheese,” said the Minister of Marketing, Mr Nash, when referring to the country’s exportable surplus of butter, cheese and meat, in an address last evening.

Discussing the question of butter and margarine, Mr Nash said the prime essential, in fact the only essential, was to see that the health of the people and fighting forces of the United Kingdom and their Allies were maintained to the full from all resources available. Resources available included shipping facilities, and this, of course, limited the amount that could be taken from this country; refrigerated space was important and was a specialised facility. Unless this could be multiplied the physical limit to supplying the United Kingdom with foodstuffs from New Zealand was not so much our productive capacity as our capacity both here and in England to organise the transport of this butter and cheese from factories to the Old Country 12,000 miles away. One could understand, therefore, that margarine was being availed of more in England, and it was being sold at a price which was. well within the means of the British people to pay. For instance, the best margarine was being sold at 9d a lb., and the cheapest, the cooking variety, at 5d a lb., whereas the official minimum price of butter in England was Is 7d. The ration of butter was originally fixed at 4oz. a person a week, and it was later announced that it would be raised to 8oz„ but it had been recently announced that as from June 3 it would be again reduced to the previous figure of 4oz. "The relatively high price of butter in England compared with margarine and in general the feeling that it was patriotic to eat margarine led to a very sharp fall in the consumption of butter, and a big increase in the consumption of margarine,” said Mr Nash. “The result is that though the importation of North European’butters into the United Kingdom has practically ceased, and British imports have been cut down by almost one half, the imports still coming from other countries (almost wholly inside the British Empire) are still probably equal to the total United Kingdom consumption. “We have told the British Government that our farms, our men, and our factories are available to ensure that as much as it is in our power the supplies of butter and cheese shall be multiplied. We are taking the step of saying that everything that is produced will be brought at least by the New Zealand Government and we will continue negotiating to try to get this surplus away. I would again emphasise that organisation is necessary, not only the organisation of ships but the organisation of ports, the organisation of transport, of dairy factories, and of farms. We must produce to the maximum in this country.”