DAIRY EXPORTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22258, 10 May 1934, Page 7

DAIRY EXPORTS

TRADE WITH GREAT BRITAIN NEED FOR CO-OPERATION VIEWS OF ENGLISH VISITOR The Governments of Great Britain and New Zealand must get together and discuss the matter before there can be a solution of the difficulties at present existing in the English market for. dairy produce,’’ said Captain R. G. Briscoe, M.P.,* in an interview with a Daily Times representative last evening. Captain Briscoe represents Cambridgeshire in the House of Commons, and arrived in Dunedin yesterday afternoon from Christchurch and Timaru. He is making a lengthy visit to New Zealand before revisiting Australia. Captain Briscoe said the general feeling in England was that there would have to be a proper balance between domestic agriculture and industry. The need of producing foodstuffs was not necessarily a question raised by the wa»’, but one of sound economic design. New Zealand producers would have to recognise the fact that England was insisting on having part of her domestic market reserved for the British farmer. England was an importing country when it came to foodstuffs and the British farmer could not hope to export. “As for the difficulties as they arise between Empire and foreign products," Captain Briscoe continued, “I do not think New Zealand has much to fear. British policy,, like your own policy, is home products first, Empire _ products second, and foreign products third. VITAE FACTORS. “It is appreciated in England that. New Zealanders are the bust per capita buyers of British goods in the world, and there ate three salient factors that people in the Dominion can remember. The first is that , Britain’s domestic production must, of necessity, be strictly, limited; it cannot increase to an.v marked extent. Another point is that there is a strong Empire sentiment in: England—as strong as it has ever been.. Finally, England realises that the only; way New Zealand can pay interest on,; her loans is by exporting to England.] In any consideration of quota topics,! these facta must be kept steadily in view.' " I believe it is possible for the Im-; perial and Dominion Governments to make some mutual arrangement by which markets could be improved and prices made more . advantageous to tfae{ producer. With a realisation of mutualj difficulties and aspirations, a satisfactory arrangement must result. It is essentially a matter for the two Govern-i raents” j New Zealand farmers —and New Zea-: landers generally —seemed to be unaware of the extent of British agriculture, said; Captain Briscoe. About 12,000,000 people in England—eight times the total population of New Zealand —were dependent on agriculture for their living. British agriculture had to be preserved,and really the Dominion was vitally con-; cerned in the prosperity of those; 12,000,000 people. They formed a large; part of the home market for British in-', dustry, and that home market becamcv increasingly important overseas; markets diminished. If agriculture in Britain were allowed to become derelict, the effect on British industry would be disastrous; while there would be a similar bad effect on Great Britain as a market for New Zealand produce. SPECIAL DIFFICULTIES.

With the dairy industry in England, the chief desire was to maintain the nation’s supply of milk. In, the main there was no desire to create for England a supply of her Own butter in competition with Dominion butter. To maintain the supply of milk in winter a certain number of cows had to be. kept, %vith the result that in the summer there was a surplus of milk. This surplus was made into; the butter and cheese which competed with New Zealand production. A special difficulty with primary products wae that there was a definite limit to the amount of foodstuffs that could be consumed, and consequently a limit to production unless there was to be waste. With manufactured articles there need be no similar limit, ae articles wore out and had to be replaced, and 7 the the need for new articles was continually developing. The limit for foodstuffs was the capacity of men’s stomachs; the limit for manufactured articles was the extent of their desires and their economic ability to gratify them. EMPIRE AS TRADE UNIT. “ If it is to be a fight for economic nationalism the British Empire must win, provided we are sensible about it,” said Captain Briscoe, commenting on the state of world trade and tariff barriers. The Empire had the resources and the markets, and provided the outlook was Imperial on the part of all — Great Britain and the dominions—the outcome would be for the benefit of all. Economic nationalism in the Imperial sense was now more important than ever both for England and for the dominions, An essential was for- each Empire country to admit the problems with which the others were faced. The recent cabled criticism of Australia’s action in developing trade with Japan did not seem to Captain Briscoe to be justified. Japan took a very considerable part of Australia’s output of wool, and in return the Commonwealth had to admit Japanese goods. If it barred them it should not expect to continue its wool trade with Japan. It seemed to him that New Zealand could do more in developing trade with the East as Australia was doing. OTTAWA AND EXCHANGE.

There was no quarrel in England with the result of the Ottawa Conference. It had been held at a time when the Empire was faced with serious difficulties and what mattered was not so much the agreements as the fact that Empire unity had been strengthened. The holding of the conference had been like the throwing out of a very satisfactory eea anchor. It had provided a great example.