PRIMARY PRODUCTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21409, 10 August 1931, Page 8

PRIMARY PRODUCTS

IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY PRIME MINISTER’S ADVICE SCIENTIFIC AIDS TO INDUSTRY (Special to Daily Times.; CHRISTCHURCH, August 9. 'The need for improvement in the quality of New Zealand’s products to enable them to overcome the increasing competition was emphasised by the Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes) when opening the winter show on Saturday evening. He mentioned the extent to which scientific}research was joined to industry overteas, and maintained that the Dominion should follow on similar lines in relation to both its primary and secondary industires. “ Only to see other countries is to realise how fortunate New Zealand is in every way in its fertility, for example, and it climate,” said Mr Forbes. “From the history of the country we realise the progress made in the short time of civilisation until a record production in proportion to the population has been attained which cannot be beaten. For the future we have to make up our minds to do our best towards improving in all ways the things we produce. “ The primary products find competition increasing year by year, and the only way in which they can face it is by improving the quality. As far as the Government is concerned, we endeavour, by co-operation with scientific research and instruction of the farmers, to _ work towards an improvement, and I think we can claim that great progress has been made. By steady improvement of the quality of. our products and taking in every acre of the country it will not be long before we shall be able to double our production. “The value of our production in 1931 is £36,275.000; in 1930 it was £46,000,000, and in 1929 it was £55,000,000. It must be remembered that with a smaller income we are bound to have difficult times, but there is no reason to be downhearted in a country like New Zealand, and the figures for the last few years show what we can do. “In 1931 9,829,000 carcasses of frozen mutton and lamb were exported, an increase of 30,000 over the previous season. Butter and cheese have had similar gains. In 1930 the export was 93,734 tons, and this year it was 97,031 tons, while 2000 tons more cheese were exported last year than in the year, before. A record for fruit was established last season, when 1,293,000 cases iwere sent to Great Britain. With these increases there is no reason why the country diould not go on. “While the Dominion has to depend on its primary products,” proceeded Mr Forbes, “there has been a steady improvement in the quality of the products of the secondary industries. Anyone comparing the exhibits of 30 years ago at such a show as this with those of to-day would hardly credit the amount of progress made, and I am quite sure that that progress will be maintained. The 'Department of Scientific and Industrial Research is being reorganised, and a board is being set up specially to deal with the industries, both secondary and primary, of the country. What struck me when 1 was abroad was that practically every industry'had its own laboratory. Those are the lines along which we should go. We dhould concentrate on scientific assistance for our industries.’