MARKET CONDITIONS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 230, 26 June 1935, Page 8

MARKET CONDITIONS

Diversified Production ADVICE TO FARMERS General market conditions were discussed in an address to the annual conference of the Royal Agricultural Society yesterday by Mr. L. R. C. Macfarlane, of Culverden, who returned recently from a visit to Great Britain. He said that in the present, state of world standards of living New Zealanders could not reasonably expect very much more for their wool than at present. In considering markets to-day there were three factors to keep in mind: (1) Markets depended normally on supply and demand’, but of recent years this old law had been upset and nullified in most countries by direct political and semi-political interference; (2) it was an agrarian habit the world over to increase production ahead of demand, and in spite of plans to the contrary the steam-roller of agricultural production moved on irresistibly, and if checked in one direction it found a new level, like water, in another; (3) the trade to-day in most countries was back to normal after the sub-normal war and post-war years, and so they could look forward for increased consumption and rising prices bn a very gradually rising scale. His advice, said Mr. Macfarlane, was to fight all artificial trade stimulants like the plague, diversify our local production in every way, continue to produce only the best,' adjust our costs of production to meet if anything lower prices in t(ie future, and, in spite of the Sphinx-like gentleman who controlled the Reserve Bank, keep something up their sleeves to meet exchange equalisation when it came, adjust our standards of living, and maintain efficient organisation. Mr. Macfarlane appealed for. the stimulation of new industries in this country, both primary and secondary. In initiative, resourcefulness and development our secondary industries had lagged far behind the primary ones, and to-day, instead of being a help. to ns in meeting the national budget, they reacted very much in the reverse order.