TRADE POSITION

Hokitika Guardian, 26 August 1938, Page 6

TRADE POSITION

VIEWS OF MR GOOD FELLOW. . , HAMILTON,'August 25. • “ (Still remain yinitablc; hut ',;.50,-long , ah'vl the- United . Kingdom l contiuucs to spend .four -h«Ur (red millions a year on armaments,.!? : s-fairly safe’to assume that-dhe .buying power of the British public will eii,vble prices to lie maintained at a.satis-, actoiy, figure,’-’ . commented U Mr.. ; ,\V; Goodfellow, - the Managing-Director of Vmalga,mated..DairiesyLiinited, to-day. ‘ ‘Espeeiall.v vis' this likely, t .to - fie : the •ase-.-if the longAalked-pf andyAnuch-hoped-for Anglo-American trade:.;agreement is finalised in, the near future, such an achievenieiit .is- likely ta/liave far-reaching results - -both economically and politically;' and who; ;J flint, New 1 Zealand- may yet find ; a-great -Hid profitable alternative market.in the United States of, America I-nU

“The export, position of New; Zealand is indeed vqr.y vulnerablc,y r .stated -Mr Goodfellow,- “.anduit requires i safe?) cuarding- in every possible way,;’ For, instance, last , year Ne,w; Zealand sold‘o the United Kingdom goods .pf tlie, "alue of I fiftyahd three-quarter, mil?. I ions, and the Dominion' imported twen-, ty-eight and a-quarter,, millions, i anti, thus, - it. had a favourable, trade, hah •inee of twent.\vtwn. and a.*half.,millioiis.j But * ( took ten millions of. this sum to pay New Zealand’s. adverse trade balance

•it.li A"s;ralia, Canada; and the United Zealand’s adverse f trade , .haliuicer > twith A Optra IK. Canada, and - the United States of America. Our small i r Ideal salesy com hint'd Awi tli ou»-.' big exports,) made it almost/ impossibldcfoKthhdaiyy farmers ofi this • Dominion* -. to do wha.t every other country is. doing—-he.., load* ing the local consumer with pa high internal price, pooling the .local o«Q the expYVrt sales, and. thus raising tiia average return to the fa.rmer. Because we could- not do that, our, -producers had to nrcct the full*force of-<- world competition: He said that this was" ah outstanding reason why. .. it. should he the policy of every Government in New Zealand to keep the internal , costs well down." Ally other policy would, 1 sooner dr later, land the •• tountry in serious difficulties. ' . Mr Gpodfellow indicated that lief was'sufficiently conservative td believe, in proved methods, and he doubted very much if either this, or any other Government.' could, for long, insulate New Zealand against - a serious fall in world'prices,. -- • Vp •'.