N.Z. DAIRY PRODUCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 July 1939, Page 5

N.Z. DAIRY PRODUCE

ARGENTINE COMPETITION. ( ] [per press association.] < AUCKLAND, July 16. j “The Argentine constitutes a poten- 1 tial threat to New Zealand’s, dairy j trade with Britain,’ 1 said Mr. M. S. ] Mackinnon, a New Zealander, who arrived by the Mataroa yesterday after ; spending 16 years- in the Argentine, where he manages two largo cattleraising properties. The dairy industry was going ahead very rapidly in the Argentine, Mr. Mackinnon said, and with some of the best dairying country in the world it was going to be a serious competitor of the Dominion before long. There were huge areas of fine alfalfa which only needed sub-division to be outstandingly fine dairy land, and being three weeks or less from the British market, the country had a definite advantage over New Zealand. The beef trade, of course, held pride

of place, and dairying methods in the Argentine were still rather more primitive than in the Dominion. The work put into the manufacture of daily products was not quite as conscientious as it was in New Zealand. Nevertheless, export to Britain was increasing every year, and New Zealand could not afford to relax its efforts if it wished to retain its lead. The Argentine was to-day well governed, Mr. Mackinnon said. Whatever ■party was in power contained a considerable proportion of land-owners, and it was universally recognised that the country’s wealth depended on 1 primary production. This, fact was , never lost to sight, and the . Government’# policy was shaped accordingly;