BUTTER QUOTAS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21975, 9 June 1933, Page 4

BUTTER QUOTAS

VIEWS OF NATIONAL DAIRY CONFERENCE. A brief reference to the butter quota problem is contained in the annual report of the National Dairy Conference, which remarks that “following so soon after the Ottawa Conference, at which free access to the British market was assured for three years, the suggestion that restrictions should be placed on the export of our-butter and cheese to Great Britain came as something of a bombshell.

“In the absence, under present world conditions, of other accessible markets, restrictions on the British market, cannot be regarded with anything but the gravest concern,” it says, “particularly as the position of New Zealand differs materially from that of our principal competitor, Denmark, where maximum production has been reached, or Australia, which with its larger population could probably absorb any potential surplus without much difficulty. It is true that there is room for considerably increased consumption of milk and milk products within the Dominion, and even although this market is necessarily limited by our small population, it must be explored to the utmost in order to relieve to some extent the pressure on our export trade. It will not, however, solve our troubles. “Unless new markets can be opened up the imposition of a quota at the present stage of our pastoral development must inevitably raise serious problems not only for the State, with its heavy external loan commitments, but also for the individual farmer, and the adoption of this principle without the most careful consideration, of all its effects would certainly bo followed by disastrous consequences. “Under the circumstances, the Dairy Board’s firm rejection of the proposed restrictions was plainly the correct stand to take at the time, and will bo generally approved by the industry. At the same time a review of prices for the past season cannot be other than disturbing, and it may well be asked what alternatives can be to prevent a complete collapse. This is a problem to which those responsible for our marketing policy must devote their closest consideration and the industry itself must assist by ensuring that the quality of the produce manufactured is beyond criticism. “The arguments in favour of restrictions have been ably presented in Mr J G. Coates’s recently-published memorandum, ‘A Butter Quota or a Free Market,’ and thanks are due to the author for his concise summary of what is the biggest problem that has yet confronted the industry. Nevertheless, in view of its far-reaching effect on the whole community the principle of restriction cannot well be accepted until every alternative has been exhausted.”