JUSTIFICATION OF QUDOTA

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 103, 3 May 1934, Page 6

JUSTIFICATION OF QUDOTA

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —May I state my opinion fiom a British farmer's point of view, to tho Now Zealand, flairy fanner, on the quota controversy?. In 1031 New Zealand shipped butter to- England, and, that butter was Measured by standard measures, first by avoirdupois weight, and secondly by a standard of measurement of value, as the New Zealand £; and the British £ were at parity. Under hueh conditions, with a, box of butter weighing 561b and being sold in tho British market at 112s per cwt, tho fanner received 5(5s in British £ 's. This ho convolted, let mo suggest, into Biitish.,bool3 and we exchanged 4.pairs of boots at 14s per pair for tho New Zealand splb of butter. "When New Zealand did this it improved our mar■ket by*,assisting in giving employment 'to ithe ..British boot operatives. ' New Zealand supplied them with butter, but due to thcif employment wo' supplied them with, milk, cream, and other farm products. Vlf wo competed in supplying i them ■with a poition of their butter, you i will agree 'wo were perfectly justified in doingvtliis-in our own market. Wo "cpmpoted, however, in fair and honoutablo , competition, because our weights and measm-es and our units of value, i.e.", our £ ' notes by which wo valued both our products, wero at a parity. Fairtiade is good business., but New Zealand farmers wei'o not satisfied with this condition of affaiis, and I am informed that they,actually went to the Government and thioatencd if it did Jio,t A alter c tho .paiity of valuo i and make Hh'ci- New t Zealand & 23 per cent, loss iv terms .of lnittor than tho, stalling, £, it would-bo put out of office." The farmers' action, theieforc has'increased the purchasing power of thp British & by 25 per cent., and this has been l-ebponsiblo for two things. It has flooded our market with 25 per cent, moie butter than would otherwise have been sent to us for the same amount of British £, 's, and thus New Zcalaud farnicis have artificially obstructed tho exchange of British boots for Now Zealand butter, and this hai had the effect of putting tho British bootmakers out of employment. I am, of course, only drawing attention to what New Zealand has done, but I acknowledge that it' has been done by other1 counhies as well.

Tho Now Zealand action has spoilt for tho British farmer his own home market for the daily supply of milk, og-gs, ami other farm products. The result Of this has been that wo/find ourselves -with millions of gallons' of milk left on our hands daily. To Meal with this wo: must turn it into butter: and cheese and thus add to an over-glutted markot, driving down tho ' prices of tlicbc comYnoditicj for both of us. To meet this serious position, we cannot demand of tho Now Zealand Govern* "ment to restore tho parity of valuo be* tween the Now Zealand and British & 's, as this is a question entirely for the New Zealand Government to decide, but wo can sny that wo will not receive into our market this additional 25 per cent, extra butter, and this is what will bo said in 1933. "While it is tiuc, therefore, that tho quota, policy in England Is not g6v'erned by tho tariff policy in* Now Zealand,' because •we remember' New Zealand h'rid a tariff policy before^'it, had devalued, s'.currency, it is h-iie^to say, hoAvever, that our quota policy.is the'nattiraL'outcome of Dominion oxchango inflation, and this is not dono in a spirit of retaliation, >but 'it is a. natural economic consequence. The Hooding of our market with butler is due to tho high purchasing power of tho Biitish £~ ns against tho New Zealand £, and this is duo to the New- Zealand farmers' deliberate action. Perhaps New Zenland farmers will noiv understand why we must, in sclf.-dcfoiicc, ask for a quota. Jt says Jn Schedule "A,?'«oC the Ottawa Agicement that this would bo applied if it win in tho interests of the British producer to do sO, and from what I havo said it cannot / bo denied it is' imperative -wo do something of this sort. Tho Now Zealand .'Governin pnt is borrowing millions of pounds from its bankers, which tho country will ultimately havo to pay^This is done to enable farmers to flood our market with butter at a lo^s. \Vo have not been able to persi>ado the British Government to go {his length with us, and wo ha-fro no desire to do so, so it1 in 1033 a .quota is applied to New Zealand butter and choose, plenge remember that it is tho outcome o£:Ncw Zealand's deliberate action and' the remedy Hea in. x New Zealand's hands. If the exchange is ieduced, tho British £ Will again purchase 561b' of butter instead of 701b and 'thus bring, about a fail1 exchange of 4, pairs Of boots at, \i% per pair for a box of butter of 661b,.—1 am, etc., A BRITISH FARMER.