N.Z. At Disadvantage In Seeds Trade

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31967, 19 April 1969, Page 9

N.Z. At Disadvantage In Seeds Trade

With the development of a large number of special varieties of ryegrass, the small* seed industry on the Continent and in Eng* land was gaining an advantage over its counterpart in New Zealand, Mr J. C. Paterson, of Christchurch, said this week.

Mr Paterson, who is the export and general manager of the grain and seed department for Pyne, Gould, GuinnaM Ltd, made thia comment after completing an overseas tour which took him to 16 countries. Mr Paterson was very impressed with the special varieties of ryegrass developed in Europe, particularly the Netherlands and Denmark. He found they had early, mid-season and late varieties, silage types, hay types and others specially bred for milk suppliers. These ryegrasses had been developed mainly by private plant breeding companies since World War 11. “Now they are competing very strongly with us for the United Kingdom market,” Mr Paterson said. “There will always be an Inquiry for New Zealand perennial for seed mixtures, but one of its deficiencies is its lack of winter hardiness in the United Kingdom and on the Continent compared with these specially developed varieties.” Mr Paterson said a high percentage of New Zealand gnseee were not going into pastures at all, but were being used for sowing down readside verges, playing fields, and purposes ether than pasture production. United Kingdom buyers also found that lack of winter hardiness was a disadvantage as far as short rotation and Ariki ryegrasses were concerned. New Zealand was, of course, exporting to areas apart from the United Kingdom and Europe—in the main, Australia and South America, where the question of winter hardiness was not such an important factor, and New Zealand varieties were well accepted. Mr Paterson said a limited number of overseas varieties were now being reproduced tin New Zealand under a con(tract system. He thought consideration should be given to extending this scheme, but of greater importance was that New Zealand plant breeders should be given every assistance in the breeding of specialised varieties suitable for export outlets as well as the local trade. Asked if he had seen varieties he considered suitable for New Zealand conditions, Mr Paterson

said he was certain there were varieties which would suit New Zealand conditions, but there were so many varieties. Trials should be, and were in fact, being carried out before extending into major commercial export production.

"If we are going to keep our markets, we must keep up with plant breeding trends,” Mr Paterson said. “After the war we had the market mainly to ourselves; now we have many competitors. “One of the reasons we have been able to keep certain markets is not necessarily because buyers have a preference for New Zealand seed, but because harvesting conditions in the Northern Hemisphere can be so adverse. Last year's harvest in the United Kingdom was the worst in living memory.” Mr Paterson said price was also a factor which sometimes reflected against the sale of New Zealand seed. For instance, at present. Continental varieties of ryegrass were being offered on the London market at three-quarters of the price of New Zealand ryegrass. Comparing the advances made in developing new species of ryegrass overseas, with the favourable climatic conditions which prevail in much of New Zealand, Mr Paterson said ho thought much more could be done in the field of pasture production.

"If we could, for example, develop a perennial grass for certain classes of hill country, where winter hardiness, high production and palatability were strong points, what an impact it would have on our own pasture production, especially if it could be established by oversowing,” Mr Paterson said.

Elaborating on the specialty grasses he had seen overseas, Mr Paterson said that In Europe, lawn grasses were available in several shades, and a grass was being developed which would require cutting no more than twice a season. Plant breeders’ rights were very much a part of the smallseeds industry in Europe. If a private company, or an individual bred a new variety, it was registered with a plant .breeder’s right, which was very similar to the system of patent rights. Mr Paterson visited some large seed cleaning and storage plants. One in Denmark

had been built at a cost equivalent to £lm sterling; another in the United States occupied 19 seres. In England he visited the National Institute of Agricultural Botany at Cambridge. This institute was doing a wonderful job evaluating pasture plants from all over the world. Moves had been made to have it nationalised, but without success. Mr Paterson felt it was a good thing this had not taken place, for it was a completely independent organisation, and respected as such. While New Zealand ryegrasses were meeting strong competition, Mr Paterson found New Zealand white elover was generally very well accepted, providing the price was competitive, and it was included in a high percentage of United Kingdom pasture mixtures. Mr Paterson said that while the demand for New Zealand seeds in the East was very limited, he was certain there was a big place for New Zealand food lines. Further, practically all of these countries were very interested in trading with New Zealand. Mr Paterson was very impressed with the business efficiency of the Japanese. “They make tremendous use of communications, and the extent of their up-to-date information on world markets is staggering.” With huge populations, countries like Japan were large importers of foodstuffs. One company he visited had traded one million tons of wheat in a week. Mr Paterson said he thought New Zealand was at a disadvantage in the export of grain, because of its shipping. In the East port facilities were geared for handling in bulk and small shipments were generally of little interest to the main buyers. Until there were more adequate facilities at South Island ports. New Zealand would have difficulty competing in the export of grain, as the ships were equipped for big tonnages, they were on charter, and they had to be loaded quickly to keep costs down. "If we want to compete in the sale of grain to the East, we must have good port facilities, and we must be prepared to sell at world parity.” After his tour, which took him 45,000 miles, Mr Paterson felt that there were few places which had the natural assets of the Canterbury plains and Marlborough —good weather, good soils, good drainage, and an adequate supply of water for irrigation. With diversification in farming, there was ample scope for big increases in production, provided New Zealand was prepared to produce efficiently and sell at world parity. Another major factor which would lead to increased exports, particularly of fresh foods, was air transport. “The impact of airfreight is coming faster than we realise,” Mr Paterson said. He could visualise the future export of primary produce by air on a large scale. The development and expansion of air transport overseas was tremendous. “Every effort must be made to ensure that jumbo jets do come to Christchurch. This is most important from the South Island point of view, particularly if we are to diversify our agricultural and horticultural production.” The recent announcement that a major food processor intended setting up in Christchurch was another indication of the further diversification which would take place in Canterbury.