BRITISH FARMERS AND OTTAWA.

Hawera Star, Volume LII, 17 November 1932, Page 4

BRITISH FARMERS AND OTTAWA.

With the object of saving the British farmer from ruin the Home Government has gone beyond the terms of the Ottawa- agreement in asking New Zealand, to reduce its meat exports to Britain by 10 per cent. For a hundred years British agriculture has been declining, owing to the drift of population to the cities and to the overseas countries of the Empire and also to Britain’s adherence to her Free Trade policy which, while giving the people cheap food, has been ruinous to the British farmer. Prior to Ottawa there was a strongly held opinion in some quarters in New Zealand that the quota system might easily prove a two-edged weapon and this fear is being justified to some extent in regard to meat. Last year British agriculture produced foodstuffs to the value of £200,000,000 and this figure could have been doubled under a tariff and quota system. Since I lie Ottawa Conference, Argentine has agreed to an immediate reduction of 20 per cent, in her export of mutton and lamb to Britain and a 10 per cent, cut in beef, with a possible increase later to 20 per cent. Scandinavian imports of bacon and pork arc to be reduced by Britain, probably by 20 per cent., and shipments of lamb and mutton from New Zealand and Australia are to bn restricted. The recognition at Homo of the plight of the British farmer has created new problems for Empire producers of meat who have only the British market to look to for the absorption of their supplies. The meat trade needs to explore every pos-

sibilitv of creating new markets, but those in closest touch with conditions arc pessimistic in that connection and believe that the greatest hope for New Zealand meat products lies in the revival of European purchasing power, with consequent increased demand and an easing of foreign supplies on the British market.