French agreement ‘good news for dairy farmers’

Press, 9 July 1986, Page 3

French agreement ‘good news for dairy farmers’

The Dairy Board believes that the agreement reached with France over the fate of its two jailed agents is good news for New Zealand’s continued butter access to the United Kingdom. This is because the French have until now been obstinate in regular negotiations about the access of New Zealand butter to the European Economic Community, where about $250 million worth is sold annually only in the United Kingdom. As part of the Rainbow Warrior dispute settle-

ment by the United Nations Secretary-Gen-eral, Mr Javier Perez de Cuellar, France must not oppose the continuing export of New Zealand butter to Britain in 1987 and 1988 at levels proposed by the European Commission. These are expected to be 77,000 tonnes next year and 75,000 tonnes in 1988. France must not take any measure that “might frustrate the implementation of the 1980 agreement between New Zealand and the European Community on mutton, lamb and goatmeat im-

ports.” The chairman of the Dairy Board, Mr Jim Graham, said yesterday that the French had given indications that they would be even more difficult during the butter access negotiations because New Zealand continued to hold their two agents, Major Alain Mafart and Captain Dominique Prieur. He believed this was a real threat to New Zealand’s continued butter access.

Now the European Commission could set the quota levels without hindrance by France, whch is itself a large butter producer, but the Irish and the Danes might still raise difficulties. So the Perez de Cuellar settlement was not in itself a guarantee that New Zealand would get the 1987 and 1988 quotas at

the proposed levels.

The 1986 access to Britain is 79,000 tonnes and the levels for the next two years are expected to be set by the E.E.C. Council of Agricultural Ministers meeting later this month.

United Kingdom butter sales are worth twice as much a kilogram to New Zealand as sales into markets outside the E.E.C. where world prices are depressed by subsidised sales from the Community’s own million-tonne-plus stockpile. The meat industry has also expressed satisfaction at the French agent settlement, which carries the promise of renewed sales of lamb offals to France. These have been disrupted by French importers and customs officials during the Rainbow Warrior dispute.