Single market welcomed by farmers
PA Wellington Federated Farmers have welcomed the suggestion that Australia and New Zealand could form a single market by the turn of the century. The idea was floated by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Cayglll, in a speech in Sydney recently.
The president of the federation, Mr Bilan Chamberlin, said the advantages for farmers on both sides of the Tasman would outweigh the disadvantages. “It would certainly give New Zealand farmers a bigger population base to work on,” he said. “I know we would welcome the opportunity to compete with Australian farmers on the Australian market”
New Zealand fanners were efficient agricultural producers particularly in the areas of dairy and meat. There would be a considerable advantage in having a bigger home market for those products. But first, two big problems would have to be sorted out, Mr Chamberlin said.
One was New Zealand’s internal transport system. At the moment it was incredibly expensive for South Islanders to shift
produce to Auckland and this needed to be reduced. Tasman transport was also expensive but this would probably ease with increased trade.
Currency could also cause difficulties, Mr Chamberlin said. There would have to be a common currency or some sort of agreement as to the levels of two currencies for a single market to work.
Internationally, Australia and New Zealand pulling together on world markets would also help exporters. "There is a lot of scope for us to work together to get better prices for both countries,” he said. This applied particularly to sheep meats and dairy products, where Australia and New Zealand were big suppliers of world markets.
The director-general of the Manufacturers Federation, Mr Wally Gardiner, is in Australia at present, but a spokesman from the federation said manufacturers would be happy to look at and talk about forming a single market. l This could provide the impetus to overcome factors inhibiting the strengthening and development of the C.E.R. agreement
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Press, 16 November 1987, Page 22
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329Single market welcomed by farmers Press, 16 November 1987, Page 22
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