British Markets Near Saturation Point; Dominions Warned

Northern Advocate, 30 March 1938, Page 5

British Markets Near Saturation Point; Dominions Warned

(Received 10 a.m.) SYDNEY, March 29. A DDRESSING the Empire Producers’ Conference in Sydney today. Sir Reginald Dorman ‘Smith, M.P., leader of the British delegation, warned the Dominions they could not continue to regard Britain as their only export market for primary products. He then set out to show how producers should attempt to regulate supplies to the United Kingdom, in order to avert economic collapse. Sir Reginald appealed to the delegates tc- lay the foundation of an intelligent Empire agricultural policy, and said it should be their duty to get a clear picture of the ultimate limitation of the absorptive capacity of the British market,. " -

Realities must be faced. The saturation point in the Home market was much nearer than many imagined. He emphasised that the Dominions, which were now developing secondary industries and thus diminishing their dependence upon the United Kingdom for manufactured goods, could not, 'at the same time, expect an ever increasing share of the United Kingdom market , for agricultural produce, nor could the Mother Country afford entirely to cut elf her agricultural connection with such countries as Denmark, Holland and Argentina. Sir Reginald mentioned that the eyes of the worlds were on the confer-

ence, which he regarded as a great opportunity and a challenge to those nations which were setting out to create a new world order. He suggested the conference should inaugurate a series of Empire commodity councils to deal with such products as mutton, lamb, pork, dairy produce, eggs, apples and pears, calling into collaboration producers’ representative of the principal foreign supplying companies. The aim must be for a regulated market and maximum supplies to. the consumer, consistent with a reasonable level of remuneration , for the producer.