Farmers concerned at trading change call

Press, 16 May 1984, Page 26

Farmers concerned at trading change call

PA Wellington A call by Japanese farmers for a new international trading policy for agriculture commodities is a matter of serious concern to New Zealand, said Mr Rob Storey, the president of Federated Farmers, speaking from New Delhi. Mr Storey is attending a conference of the Federation of Agricultural Producers, at which the Japanese delegate presented the new proposal. “The effect of the Japanese proposal would be to recognise the right of all countries to seek self sufficiency in all foodstuffs, virtually irrespective of the cost of doing so. The policy

would also strictly limit imports to making up the difference between local production and local demands.”

The Japanese delegation had sought the approval of the congress to seek a change to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

“In expressing New Zealand’s strong concern at the Japanese initiative, we emphasised the advantages both to exporting and importing countries of international trade based on efficient and low cost production,” said Mr Storey. “We also emphasised that other countries’ ability to buy Japanese-manufactured products rested on their

ability to sell their agricultural exports on the Japanese markets under reasonably competitive conditions without strict quota or other trade restrictions.

“The Japanese delegation did acknowledge that those proposals were mainly related to basic foodstuffs needed for a nation’s wellbeing and security. In this respect, we received an assurance that non-traditional products such as New Zealand’s kiwifruit exports to Japan were not threatened by the proposals. “We will be discussing these matters with our Japanese counterparts when we visit them in Tokyo next,” Mr Storey said.