End subsidies call

Press, 9 April 1988, Page 2

End subsidies call

PA ) [ Wellington ’ ■ ■■ r ■ ■ The president of Federated Farmers, Mr Brian Chamberlin, has told an international conference that ) subsidies and other support for agriculture should be eliminated worldwide. j ) Agricultural support caused huge distortions and was grossly unfair to some countries, Mr Chamberlin told delegates at the World Food Conference in Brussels

this week. The problems of farming in New Zealand had been caused by unfair market practices by other | countries) and a totally unacceptable rate of domestic inflation, he said. New Zealand farming, while [still facing difficulties, was on )a much better footing now that subsidies had been axed, he said. New Zealand’s problems had not been caused by the with-

drawal of subsidies, but by two other factors. First, there was the dumping' on world markets of the subsidised products of countries that were much less efficient at producing pastoral products than New Zealand. “Second, New Zealand has had a rate of inflation which for many years has been much higher than that of our trading partners.”