Market Far Produce If Manufactures Are Taken in Payment

Northern Advocate, 23 August 1945, Page 3

Market Far Produce If Manufactures Are Taken in Payment

(Special.) HAMILTON, This Day. “It is extremely unlikely that New Zealand will be unable to sell all her exportable primary products so long as she will accept manufactured goods in payment,” said Mr William Goodfellow, managing-director of Amalgamated Dairies. Ltd., in addressing the shareholders at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company, Ltd., at Hamilton, yesterday. Mr Goodfellow said that the present policy of the New Zealand Government was unfair to Great Britain, our only substantial customer, and was also contrary to the terms of the Ottawa and a subsequent agreement. It was also contrary to the spirit of the Atlantic Charter, and inevitably must, within a few years when food supplies again became plentiful, bring repercussions which would be felt severely ■by the whole,community. “For any Government of a great food-exporting country like New Zealand to prejudice the present and future real wealth of the country fou political expediency is, in my humble opinion, a very serious state of affairs,” he added. There recently had been a suggestion for an extended long-period contract for the sale of the Dominion’s produce to the United Kingdom, continued Mr Goodfellow. Such a policy at this time would be a very risky business and could not be too strongly condemned, especially when the value of sterling was in the melting-pot. The British .war debt of over £25,000,000.000, plus current trade and war debts of over £3,000,000, justified the expectation that there would be considerable further inflation in the United Kingdom,

’Tackci-Miiuled,” During the war. said Mr Goodfellow, the people of the United Kingdom had become "packet-minded” in regal’d to food products and there was now scope for considerable expansion in this direction. Amalgamated Dairies had developed a packaging business in London for egg and milk powders, and during the current season some 13,00,000 tins were packed for the Ministry of Food for household use. The posiwar surplus of milk powders in the United States was causing some con - cern, and in consequence no further factories in New Zealand were warranted at present, in spite of the immediate prospects of payable prices for the next year or two. Dairy produce imports from Europe into England were again coming forward. Mr Goodfellow said. Denmark had suffered very little war damage,' and with caltlecake and fertilisers in normal supply she would soon recover her pre-war export position. No other Continental supplies would be available this season. Dealing with the supply position of the United Kingdom for the next few years, Mr Goodfellow said that it would appear probable that Canada and New Zealand would provide, without difficulty, all the cheese required. Butter, however, would be in short supply for several years, and would be imported mainly from New Zealand, Denmark, Australia and Argentina. It was just possible, however, that Europe, including Germany, might export some butter to ’ England next year, and use margarine for home consumption. If this were done, such butter would produce credits for the purchase of much-needed clothing and manufactured goods.

Margarine Sales. Mr Goodfellow expressed the opinion that sales of margarine were likely to expand all over Europe, and that it would take a big effort-on the part of the butter-exporting countries to regain their pre-war markets. Regarding United Kingdom post-war food policy, he said that while food was in short supply New Zealand had nothing to fear, but when once supplies became normal, quotas on meats might be anticipated for the assistance of the home farmer. Cheese might also be regulated for the same purpose, but there did not seem to ne any prospect of restrictions being placed on the importation of butter. Under its 1944-47 programme, the United Kingdom would aim to produce more milk, meats and vegetables, less grains, little or no butter, some cheese, and evaporated and dried milk from town supply- surplus. Referring to markets other than the United Kingdom, Mr Goodfellow stated that immediate steps were being taken to promote dairy produce export business wherever there was any possibility of a market. India, now being a creditor nation, offered good prospects. Later, China, with the assistance of American and British capital, would also be worth attention, and the Dutch East Indies market would be available until Holland built up her herds again. The Honolulu, Panama and the West Indies markets were all small, but in the aggregate they a useful alternative to the United kingdom. The enormous war expansion of agriculture in tire United States would, unfortunately, cause considerable internal difficulties there and might have repercussions abroad when production had to be reduced to local requirements.