DIFFICULT POSITION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16612, 30 March 1928, Page 2

DIFFICULT POSITION

TRADE PROBLEMS NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA FEDERAL MINISTER'S VIEWS './For Press Association.) WELLINGTON, last night. The Commonwealth Minister -of Trade and Customs, the Hon. 11. E, Pratteu, who will leave by the Alaunganui to-morrow for Sydney, stated tonight something about the butter, wheat and flour trade problems, subjects upon which he had not previouslv touched in the course of his tour.

Mr. Pratteu explained at some length the operation of the Patnffson butter plan, which he described as a non-political and entirely voluntary co-operative movement amongst the dairy farmers and butter producers throughout Australia.

“Both the Comm'iiwealth and this Dominion, unfortunately for a complete trade understanding between us, have much the same climate and productions, which make a generous reciprocity difficult, ’ ’ said Mr. Pratten. “I quite agree that the freer we can make trade between ns the better it will be for each Dominion, but our trade relations seem to revolve more than they need round the questions of butter, wheat, and flour.’' After explaining in detail the object and effect, of the Paterson butter plan, Air. Pratteu stated: “Seeing that. Australia is an exporting country, it is obvious that every pound .of butter imported into Australia, while there is a sufficiency of local supplies, forces the exportation of an equal quantity that otherwise would be consumed in the. country, and the importation into Australia of, say, 8,000,0001b5. of butter from New Zealand necessarily costs the dairying industry 3d per lb. upon a similar quantity exported, or £IOO,OOO directly out of the farmers’ pockets. In order to re-establish the position as it existed before the operation of the Paterson plan it was necessary that the cost of New Zealand butter should be increased to Australian domestic parity. The Australian butter industry raised the export bonus from 3d to 4d per lb. This would have the result of increasing the domestic price 4d per lb. over London parity. Tjiis increase was found unworkable and 3d per lb. was reverted to.” OPERATION OF PATERSON SCHEME He asked the dairy farmers of 'New' Zealand to closely examine the position. They in Australia wanted to give their * farmers some benefit out of the home market, so that the consumers of butter, who largely benefited '.by the .Arbitration Court awards, -should .give a Tittle help to the dairy industry. The Paterson plan was .'designed to improve the conditions of the Australian dairy farmer, he said, and Australia butter -makers and cream suppliers pay a voluntary levy to improve their net (returns, and this was being de-feated-by the .dealer in New 'Zealand butter.

“The dealer in New Zealand butter,” he says, “scoops the profit to the extent that importations prevent the Paterson plan from functioning in the manner intended. The producers of butter in New Zealand are getting no bigger not return from the export of their butter to the Commonwealth than they are from the export of their butter to Britain, Canada, or any other place. Whatever profit is being made, I hazard the opinion, is going into the pockets of the dealers, jobbers, and importers, and the dairy farmers of New Zealand are being used to prevent their brethren in Australia getting the higher prices in their local market to which they are entitled by reason of the increasing costs of production.”

With regard to wheat and flour, the New Zealand policy was to become independent of outside supplies—exit, therefore, Australian Trade. The general trade between the countries had changed in the last few years, and to a great extent the balance was now nearly even. “How in the world we are going to solve our trade problems and get together and please everybody I frankly do not know, ” concluded Mr. Pratten. “The only way out of this

difficult position is for each country to give what it can without hurting the agrarian or other special interests of either Dominion.”