ANGLO-POLISH TRADE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26981, 17 January 1949, Page 5

ANGLO-POLISH TRADE

FIVErYEAR AGREEMENT SIGNED

LARGEST EAST-WEST PACT YET NEGOTIATED

NZPA—Copyright

Rec. 8 p.m. LONDON, Jan. 14. Britain to-day signed a £260,000,000 five-year trade pact with Poland—her first long-term agreement with an Eastern European country since the war. The agreement provides for the exchange of goods totalling £130,000,000 from each country. Britain will receive eggs, bacon, other foodstuffs, and timber in exchange. for wool, rubber, crude oil, tyres, dyestuffs, and machinery. The pact will make Britain, rather than Russia. Poland’s biggest customer. The agreement came after 13 weeks of hard bargaining. It is the largest east-west European trade pact yet negotiated. Mr Reginald Stavey, under-secretary of the British Board of Trade, stated in Warsaw that Britain had agreed to release all Polish assets in England frozen during the Nazi occupation and Poland had agreed to use such resources by paying them into a special account at the Bank of England towards the liquidation of pre-war obligations to British creditors. Authoritative British quarters described the new agreement as a triumph of realism over politics. The agreement would be of tremendous assistance to both countries. Reuter learns that Poland will send Britain 20,000 tons of bacon in 1949, and 200,000 dons over the whole period of the agreement. The Polish export of eggs will amount to 156,000,000 fresh eggs and 3500 tons of frozen eggs in 1949 and 1,440,000.000 eggs and 31,500 tons respectively during the whole five years. Poland will also send Britain some cheese in 1949 and during the remaining four years will also send butter and lard. Poultry exports in 1949 will be 550 tons and over the whole period 35,000.