DR PAGE’S PLAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22779, 15 January 1936, Page 11

DR PAGE’S PLAN

AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND TRADE' REMOVAL OF EMBARGOES (From Our Own Correspondent) SYDNEY, January 8. Hopes of settling the potato-orange war between Australia and New Zealand on a satisfactory basis are now held by the Federal authorities. Negotiations are expected to reach a head when the Minister for Commerce (Dr Earle Page), who will leave for England via Canada on January 22, calls on the New Zealand Government. Federal Ministers believe that a concession to New Zealand potato-growers will be to Australia’s advantage, as the market there for Australian oranges and mandarins —which are now banned except those grown in South Australia — would be far greater than the market available here for New Zealand potatoes. The present embargo on New Zealand potatoes will probably not be lifted entirely. The suggestion is that New Zealand potatoes should be admitted for limited periods when Australian potatoes are scarce. It is claimed that only a few Australian growers benefit by these periods of scarcity, and that high prices have a markedly depressing effect on potato sales. Potato-growers, however, are considerably perturbed by Dr Page’s proposal. They point out that New Zealand potatoes are prohibited imports because of the presence of scab, and that if the embargo on potatoes is lifted this disease, which has not yet obtained a hold in Australia, may be introduced. The Vegetable-growers’ Association is preparing to protest against the lifting of the embargo, and a deputation will shortly approach the Federal Government on the matter.

Fruitgrowers, on the other hand, endorse Dr Page’s plan. “It provides a pleasant prospect for the new year for fruitgrowers of this State,” said Mr E. E. Herrod, secretary of the New South Wales Fruitgrowers’ ■ Federation. “It is to be hoped that the Federal Government will not forget the claims of other fruits as well as oranges, and that, in addition, the claims of New South Wales growers will not be overlooked. The bulk of the production of citrus fruits conies from New South Wales, and full opportunity could not possibly be taken to develop the New Zealand markets from the southern States alone. Practically the whole of the potatoes that may come from New Zealand will have to be accepted by the Sydney and Brisbane markets, and, in turn, New South Wales and Queensland growers of citrus fruits should have every opportunity of reopening their export market to New Zealand.”