European visit by farmers’ leaders

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33060, 30 October 1972, Page 2

European visit by farmers’ leaders

(From HOWARD WILLIAMS)

BRUSSELS, October 29.

Mr Bruce Dryden, president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand, has just completed a series of meetings with Common Market leaders and farming organisations “to remind these people that they are dealing with people and not statistics.”

Accompanied by the Federated Farmers general secretary 7 (Mr John Pryde), Mr Dryden has met leaders of C.O.PA. (the federation of national farmers’ unions in the Common Market) and Mr Carlo Scarascia Mugnozza, the Italian vice-president of the Common Market’s executive commission responsible for agriculture.

Referring to the recent statement in Brussels by the New Zealand Minister of Trade (Mr Taiboys) that he was confident that the community would honour its pledge not to frustrate New Zealand efforts to find new dairy markets, Mr Dryden said: “It’s a case of wait and see; I would like to share Mr Talboys’s optimism.” Mr Dryden was seriously concerned about the surplus butter situation in Europe at present (the six members of the existing Common Market have nearly 400,000 tons of surplus butter.)

“And don’t forget,” Mr Dryden said in an exclusive interview before leaving Brussels, “that butter prices will go up in the United Kingdom as a result of Cotamon Market membership. “The last time there was a major increase in United Kingdom prices, butter consumption dropped there by 25 per cent.” Mr Dryden hoped that proposals to off-load the surpluses at reduced prices to needy people within the Common Market would succeed—averting the need to dump on the Asian and Latin American markets. “We have reservations about the over-all situation, but if the details work out in keeping with the promises made, New Zealand can look forward to satisfactory world trade in butter.”

But a lot depended on the enlarged Common Market attitude to world trade, he said.

Referring to the possibility of the Common Market adopting a more liberal policy in agriculture in return for lower industrial import tariffs by New Zealand and Australia, Mr Dryden said: “The New Zealand Government already, has a policy of dismantling import controls, and we support th is. But it is happening too slowly and the situation allows others to criticise us for protectionist tendencies.”

Mr Pryde emphasised that his association wanted agriculture to be one of the main topics at the proposed worldwide trade negotiations scheduled to take place in Geneva next year. Mr Pryde is confident that at these talks New Zealand will be backed by the United States as well as Australia and South Africa. Before coming to Europe, Mr Pryde and Mr Dryden met officials in both Washington and Ottawa. “It is clear that the United States, as the world’s largest exporter of agricultural produce, will be an ally in Geneva. They have told us in Washington that they will strive to achieve something in Geneva to cover agricultural trade.”

Mr Dryden and Mr Pryde are due to return to Wellington on November 9, after a visit to Western Germany.