Fight Against Farm Protection Policies

Press, Volume C, Issue 29539, 14 June 1961, Page 6

Fight Against Farm Protection Policies

Market prospects for New Zealand's meet and dairy produce were to an important extent bound up with the attack now being waged on agricultural protectionism, Mr J. B. Quigg, an investigating officer of the Department of Agriculture. Wellington, said at the department's course on farming as a business in Christchurch yesterday. Arguments could be enumerated to justify a measure of support being accorded to agriculture overseas, said Mr Quigg. and New Zealand conceded the merit of some of these arguments, but she was forthright in her condemnation of the level of protecItion given and some of the ; methods used to carry out the policies. “In many cases not only ts production stimulated by toI ordinately hagh producer prices, but consumption is retarded by the maintenance of high consumer prices. The inevitable result has been, in many cases, reinforcement of the tendency for supplies to outrun demand and the accumulation of surpluses which jare often dumped on world markets to the injury of • economic producing countries such as New Zealand." he said. Pressure

National policies of agricultural protection were implemented by governments, and their effects could be mitigated only by the actions of governments, said Mr Quigg. New Zealand was bringing constant pressure to bear on other countries to modify their policies so as to reduce the unfair load placed on New Zealand and other countries highly dependent on trade in agricultural products. In the annual discussions with the United- Kingdom Government New Zealand freely used the opportunity i she had of critically comi meriting on the levels of sup--1 port given by the United Kingdom Government to her iown agriculture. | In the wider sphere New I Zealand had been very outI spoken in the international I agency concerned with trade matters—G-A.T.T. New Zealand could take a great deal of credit for the fact that during the last three years considerable attention had been given in G.A.T.T. to the effects on trade of national agricultural policies, and a special committee had been set up which was still examining the problem. “It must be conceded that the practical effect of these i deliberations has not been ' significant as yet, but one must take a long-term view \ in matters of such fundamental significance,” he continued. Draft Principles New Zealand had also taken a very active part in this aspect of the work of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, which was now at a fairly crucial stage. The organisation now had under consideration a set of draft principles, which if agreed to, would be used by governments in formulating lor revising their national agricultural policies. The basic aim of these principles was to ensure that national policies were devised in such a way that their ef-

fects on international trad* were kept to a minimum. In addition the Government endeavoured to influence or mitigate the efforts of agricultural policies ol countries by the negotiation of trade agreements and by direct representations to governments. Referring to the European Economic Community, Mr Quigg said that the most difficult problem at present facing this organisation and the development of greatest importance tor New Zealand was the formulation of a common agricultural policy. Agricultural policies and price levels in the member states varied considerably, and it was ptwing difficult to reach agreement on proposals designed to establish a single market in the community. The present proposals were not reassuring to Neiw Zealand, and it seemed unlikely that they would be more liberal than the protectionist policies at present pursued by the individual governments of the Six. Much had been said in recent weeks of the possibility of the United Kingdom joining the E.E.C. If this eventuated the implications for New Zealand were tremendous, and the nature of a common agricultural policy for an enlarged E.E.C. would be of paramount significance. ’’Practices Die Hard” “Experience would suggest that agricultural protective practices die hard, and that the most we ean expect is a slow moderation of them over time,” said Mr Quigg. ‘‘The conclusion, therefore, is that in the short term we can expect to experience marketing problems of varying intensity in respect of dairy produce and meat.” Wool was, however, somewhat different. For the last decade world consumption of raw wool had been increasing a little faster than world woo! production, and this had reduced growers’, commercial, and Govern-ment-owned stocks and stocks tof semi-processed and manufactured wool products. These factors might indicate a price rise. On the other hand, however, competition among fibres would continue to increase, and consumer preferences would be influenced by promotion as well as quality.