“Not Buying Enough From Russia”

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31365, 10 May 1967, Page 3

“Not Buying Enough From Russia”

(N/Z. Press Association)

WELLINGTON, May 9. Trading today presented no difficulty in buying—the difficulty was in selling, said the Minister for the Soviet Union (Mr B. Y. Dorofeev) in an interview today during which he deplored the swift decline in Russia’s balance of trade with New Zealand. In 1963, when a trade agreement with New Zealand was reached, New Zealand had a favourable balance of 20 to 1 with Russia, he said. Since then, the Soviet Union had bought wool increasing in value by about £1 million a year up to last year’s £5.5 million worth. Last year Russia sold only £1 worth of goods to New Zealand to every £6O worth it bought from her, said Mr Dorofeev. About the middle of March, the Legation’s commercial

counsellor (Mr S. Gruzdev) told the Department of Industries and Commerce that Russia was ready to buy 500 tons of New Zealand wool immediately. Later, he had offered to buy in a bigger quantity on a basis of one-fifth of the value of the wool being paid for by buying Russian goods.

“The other four-fifths of the value would have been in cash,” said Mr Dorofeev. “About the beginning of April his proposal was submitted to’ the department in written form.

“Because of the way it was distorted in the press, it was made to sound like a barter deal. But it is not a barter deal, vhich is pound for pound. “Unfortunately, the proposal was rejected officially. It is open for any Government to make its own decision on business matters—and we are not cross with it” “Must Buy”

Mr Dorofeev said that all Soviet trade, both import and export, was in the hands of the Ministry of Trade as a State monopoly. “Of course, the Ministry of Trade cannot ft

buy without gelling,” he added. \ Each year since the 1963 trade agreement his country had increased its wool purchases here by £1 million. “In spite of this, our import licences last year were cut 20 per cent,” he said. “If it happens again this year, we just can’t buy the same quantity here. We can buy from Australia or Argentina, where

there are open import markets.”

Mr Dorofeev said there were orders from, several New Zealand companies for Russian products that could not be brought in because licence limits had been exhausted. One instance was that of a Russian shotgun with double barrels in vertical instead of the conventional horizontal alignment “They are very popular and sell for only about £15,” he said. “But we can’t bring enough in to satisfy the inquiries.” Other leading Russian products selling freely “in dozens of countries round the world" were electrical generating equipment and machine tools.

“Both these are desperately needed here to build your industry, and we are very experienced in producing these things,” said Mr Dorofeev. He said that the annual increase in Russia’s electric power production is five times greater than New Zealand's total present production. This was an example of the scope of electric power equip-' ment developed by Russia.

Mr Dorofeev said he understood that the Russian tender for turbine equipment for the Tongariro scheme had been quite competitive, and he expected a tender for Maraetai II equipment to be forthcoming on attractive terms. Other Russian production which could interest New Zea. land ranged in variety from tractors, tunnelling equipment and fertilisers to watches, cameras, binoculars and tinned fish.