EXTRA PAYMENT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 May 1942, Page 2

EXTRA PAYMENT

MADE TO DAIRY PRODUCERS A WAR COST ALLOWANCE. FA R Vi WORK ER S’ WAG ES , INCREASED. (I’.v 'J'eicf'i'.'iph--Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. A war cost allowance of Id a lb for creamery butter and .31 d a lb for cheese was announced by the Minister of Marketing, Mr Barclay, in a statement in the House of Representatives ire night. Appropriate increases arc to be made in the wages of dairy-farm worker:;. The retail prices of butter and cheese will remain unchanged. The Minister said that as a result of coiiAiunecs, lite Government and the industry reached a satisfactory agreement for payment on all butter and cheese manufactured from milk and cream delivered to dairy factories from August 1. till July 31, 1943, of a war cost allowance as follows:— Oil creamery butter: Jd a lb., re-' presenting .61 d a ,1b of butterfat, of ■which .14’1 a lb butterfat is 5 per cent on the labour reward factor (8.84 d in the guaran teed price compilation, leaving ,17c! a lb butterfat to offset other costs incurred. On cnec-se: ,31d a lb, representing .76d a lb of butterfat, of which ,44d a lb butterfat is 5 per cent on the labour reward as in the case of butter, and .17d a lb butterfat is allowed for other costs incurred. The remaining amount, of ,15d a lb butterfat represents an increase in the allowance for cheese factory costs from 3.5 d to 3.65 d a lb butterfat. This adjustment lias been made to maintain the 2d differential payment on a butterfat basis between butler and cheese suppliers. BASIC PURCHASE PRICES. As the result of these increases the • basic purchase prices for the 1942-43 season arc: Creamery butter, 15.39 d a lb. and cheese 8.73 d a lb. These purchase prices represent on the standard conversion formula payments to suppliers of 18.49 d a lb for butterfat for butter-making, and 18.49 d a lb for butterfat for cheese-making. Dairy farm workers’ minimum wages weie fixed on the basis of the butterfat payout of dairy companies. The appropriate increase in wage rates would follow the rise in prices. RETAIL PRICES UNCHANGED. The Minister said that the retail prices of butter and cheese would remain unchanged. Th c increase in the price of butter would apply to quantities sold for local consumption by the dairy companies, this increase being absorbed by the Internal Marketing Division. Dairy companies were entitled to thc equivalent of export prices for cheese sold for local consumption. While the retail price would remain unchanged the tribunal would if necessary investigate the incidence of this increased payment to cheese producers on the local sale of cheese. Mr Barclay added that it had been agreed that the 2s subsidy calves to compensate for the loss of veal meat would again be made available to the industry this year on the same terms as last year.