Exporting vital—dairy head

Press, 28 June 1989, Page 3

Exporting vital—dairy head

PA Wellington The 1987 sharemarket crash led to a “rude awakening” for New Zealanders that exporting is fundamental to their economic wellbeing, says the retiring Dairy Board chairman, Mr Jim Graham. In the board’s 1989 annual report, Mr Graham said sharemarket euphoria seemed to convince the public “and many who should have known better” that New Zealand’s days of reliance on exports were over.

The trough that the dairy industry passed through two years ago “was made all the worse” by monetary and economic policies that had the effect of keeping the exchange rate high and sapping the productive strength of export industries, he said. Those who raised the voice of dissent, “were promptly characterised as heretics.” But the crash had brought with it “a rude national awakening,” Mr Graham said.

During the season when the industry’s fortunes were at their nadir, those who talked about the certainty of better days ahead were seen, at best, as wishful thinkers, he said. “Thankfully, dairy farmers showed a collective wisdom, often sadly lacking in the wider community, and took every possible step to retain the productive capacity of their farms — often at considerable personal sacrifice.”