its Rice Bill

[?] Zfrom The East

[?]NG Could Save [?]00,000 its Rice Bill

[CE from the East, which last September was held in Papua r Guinea ports as a “prohibited 3rt” may be permitted into the itory if Australian rice interests lot bring Australian rice down to impetitive price. leaking on the subject of rice jrtation at the March meeting ;he P-NG Legislative Council, John Gunther, Director of th in the Territory, said: here has been a great increase le price of rice since 1941, and Territory has been aware that Australian trade at one time at an export price far in excess le home market price, but as trade at that stage had a >poly, the Territory had to )t it ... It was fair that this ralian Territory should give ity to the Australian trade, we expected to receive con ation in nrice . . . but despite ,ts that P-NG would seek its on the world markets unless Australian price became com ve, the Australian trade re ed adamant. The position has arrived where the Territory imer can no longer be used to lise the Australian industry.” - difference between the price istern and Australian rice is £25 to £3O per ton; as P-NG ts 15,000 tons per annum, this mean a saving of about £300,n the Territory’s rice bill.

Bn shipments of Saigon rice held up in P-NG last Sep r. PIM asked why. The 1 reply was that it was mt Territory policy that only ilian rice be imported.—” ermore, that Australian rice irown, Saigon rice was white f the latter were used for rations, supplementary foods have to be issued. that time there was a dif e of about £3 per ton in the Df Eastern rice in comparison Australian. fdney rice merchant said that igh price of Australian rice ow be largely attributed to rowers who were demanding £35 per ton for unprocessed rice. ydney firm interested in the ;ation of Far Eastern rice to Guinea said the the Admini n announcement was good for them and for consumers, was plenty of high quality astern rice available.

THE high price of Australian rice has always been a mystery to the PIM. In 1952 we tried to investigate the whole set-up and got nowhere —except to form a conviction that the whole thing was a racket.

At that time growers were getting £3O per ton; wholesalers were paying £75 per ton. When we attempted to find out what happened to that £45, we were smartly told to mind our own business—not to “blot our copybook” was the expression used.

If growers now are getting £35 per ton for rice, no doubt they earn it. (It would be interesting to know, in this connection, how much rice-growers in the Territory get for their rice). And we still believe that the exorbitant price of Aus tralian rice is caused by the middle man somewhere along the way between grower and wholesaler.

New Native Ration Scale

Dr. Gunther said that Australian brown rice was of high quality, well packed, with good keeping qualities. Some of the samples of Eastern rice which he had seen were rubbish, and unfit for con sumption. Badly packed and un dried rice would have poor keeping qualities. Importers would have to be on their guard or they might be faced with a wastage which could cancel out the whole of the price differential.

Dr. Gunther said also that changes in the native ration scale would be introduced shortly.

White rice would be deleted from the scale entirely and would be replaced by “processed rice” —a vitamin enriched product that was obtainable from the East and could be processed in Australia.

The new scale would also define “brown rice” and add another staple—baked pearled wheat which was as nutritious as rice although native labour might be inclined to reject it at first.