$350M on S.M.P.s ‘realistic estimate’

Press, 13 November 1982, Page 2

$350M on S.M.P.s ‘realistic estimate’

A total of $350 million was a realistic estimate of the amount spent this year on supplementary minimum payments, said the Minister of Overseas Trade. Mr Cooper, yesterday.

The S.M.P. scheme was a short-term farm-support system introduced in 1979 to give people the opportunity of getting through a difficult time internationally. Mr Cooper told a press conference of international agricultural journalists at Lincoln yesterdav.

Mr Cooper said that neither farmers nor the Government wanted S.M.P.s to be a long-term scheme. They would be removed when the difficult period had been overcome. This would not be overnight, because it could take two to three years for the situation to improve. It was difficult for New Zealand suddenly to turn to an alternative to meat, wool and dairy exports, said Mr Cooper, commenting on New Zealand's agricultural production. In the future, New Zealand might not be exporting to the same markets as now, but could be supplying Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand. Indonesia, and the Philippines. There was no doubt that New Zealand would export more produce to Asian countries as their standard of living increased. Mr Cooper said.