The Press FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1975. Trading with Iran

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33774, 21 February 1975, Page 12

The Press FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1975. Trading with Iran

The visit of the Shah of Iran to New Zealand last year encouraged a belief that profitable new markets for New Zealand produce could be found in the Middle East. The two countries are now on the brink of making a deal which suggests that the optimism was justified. When entering new markets New Zealand must be prepared to satisfy the demands of its new customers, even when they involve sometimes aw-kward changes in the country’s traditional ways of doing things. In the case of Iran this means that for some years at least, some meat will have to be sent to Iran in the form of live sheep: and the Government will have to lift its ban on the export of live sheep.

The New Zealand meat industry is geared to exporting frozen carcasses. To begin sending live sheep abroad in large numbers could still arouse opposition. But. provided the meat workers are given guarantees that their employment will not be seriously affected m the long run by the practice, they should be persuaded to withdraw their opposition. None of the conditions the Iranians are laying down are any more onerous than those New Zealand is having to meet to satisfy the new standards of hygiene which New Zealand’s traditional customers have adopted.

The benefits to New Zealand of adding value to a product before exporting it are obvious. The Iranians, aware no doubt that frozen meat is easier to ship and handle, have indicated that, as consumer tastes in Iran change. New Zealand will be gradually relieved of the requirement that a significant proportion of the meat sold to Iran be sent in the form of live sheep. In return for attention to the purchaser’s requirements, New Zealand can expect good prices for its produce. If long-term contracts are signed which allow for prices to increase with world inflation, the steadying effect on New Zealand’s balance of payments will be most welcome.

New Zealand’s trading relationship with Iran has developed quickly. Opportunities clearly exist to sell other products than meat to Iran and to sell a whole range of products — not excluding manufactured goods — to other countries in the Middle East. The growth of trade is likely to be less rapid and the volume of goods smaller when New Zealand begins to trade with these other countries than they have been so far with Iran. The success in finding a market in Iran for New Zealand products rewards the efforts of those who have been active in the diversification of markets which is essential to New Zealand’s future economic well-being.