N.Z. TRADE WITH GERMANY

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29016, 3 October 1959, Page 18

N.Z. TRADE WITH GERMANY

Political Problems Seen (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) COLOGNE. October 1. While Western German Government officials are discursive on the value of New Zealand having either a legation or a trade office opened in one of its main cities. Western German traders are also emphatic in their sunport. though lor an entirely different reason. Bluntly, they are irked by their country’s bureaucracy. One who visited the New Zealand stand at the Anuga food fair was most emphatic on this point. He was the representative of a New Zealand meat company. He said that there was a big potential market for New Zealand meat, particularly beef and ewe mutton. He was less enthusiastic about lamb, reflecting a general opinion that lamb is the least popular of meat in Germany. He said that basically the main difficulty in the way of expanding the meat trade was political. Farmers’ Opposition West German farmers who are the key support for Dr. Adenauer's Social Democrat Government. were opposed to the importation of meat and very few import licences were granted after they had been consulted by the Government. "Then.” he went on. “we come up against bureaucracy. Our officials seem to make all the difficulties they can for importers. For instance, it has often happened that we have been granted a licence to import meat by a specific date. "Everything has seemed fine until we discover there is no shioping available to bring the meat to Germany by that date, and so we have been unable to make use of the licence.” He said he was much impressed by New Zealand meat and provided it could be offered at a lower price than fresh German meat there would be a ready demand. ' Although New Zealand lamb was rather too fat for German palates, he had no doubt it would sell. Opinion Endorsed His opinion was endorsed by other butchers who visited the New Zealand stand, more than one inquiring if he could not buy all the meat being shown. This tends to disprove the theory that Germans are averse to lamb—which they call mutton—and might be open to sales promotion and perhaps cooking instruction on the New Zealand product. Butter, like meat, is bought by Germans on their complicated system of tenders for quotas and import licences, and again they only buy when there is a shortage as at present. The Dairy Products Marketing Commission has a permanent representative in Federal Germany and he too supports the idea of the appointment of a New Zealand trade commissioner in one of the main cities.