FOOD IMPORTS

Southland Times, Issue 22475, 10 November 1934, Page 6

FOOD IMPORTS

THE HOME MARKET DOMINION’S PRODUCTS REGULATION PROPOSAL (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, November 9. Significant references to the negotiations now proceeding in London regarding the regulation of food imports into Britain, were made by the Minister of Finance, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, when he was discussing the Agriculture (Emergency Powers) Bill in the House of Representatives to-day. “This very day,” he said, “we are discussing the short term, and at the same time a long term arrangement of two years, not because we want it, but the sterling market says to us it wants our quantities in total, and the specified types of produce that we are to send to the United Kingdom market for the next two years. Then immediately someone has to say what quantity of each kind has to be sent, and an argument has to take place as to what consideration shall be given to various types and weights. It is a limited quantity. You cannot move past it. You are bound to have a surplus and what are we to do with it ? The markets have to be organized. Mr W. E. Parry: That is very interesting.

The Minister: Yes, you say the Government can do it, but unless the community recognizes the change in economic circumstances, it is open to the most terrific criticism in so far as interests can use prejudices and say that the Government should have done this or that and what different arrangements could have been made. Mr J. A. Nash, referring to the Executive Commission: It is not a fulltime job. Mr Coates: Absolutely, there’s no question about it. The Minister said that proposals were being considered for the export of all classes of beef to Britain. Two definite steps were being taken, one to get an extension of the present agreement for three months, and the other to get an extension for two years. The question was whether they were to considei’ the question of definite quantitative restriction.

Mr W. J. Polson: In order to give immediate assistance to the industry it is necessary to have some organization. Mr Coates, definitely: No matter how necessary it is to give assistance to the dairy farmer, or to any agriculturist, it would be very unwise to do so until we are able to handle it. The position is that we may be called on at any moment to consider the question of quantities. It may be quite wrong to bring this into the discussion, but prejudical remarks have been made and they were that this has been forced upon us. It was not that the thing is a clear-cut decision made after the most careful calculations as to whether it would be wise to do this to-day The best interests of New Zealand have not been served because we have been hostile to Great Britain and have not tried to meet her conditions and to meet the sterling market. The Minister added that the changes which had taken place in the world, as far as New Zealand’s primary products were concerned, were not of New Zealand’s making. Other countries had placed limits on what they would take. For instance, Germany took 25,000 cases of apples from New Zealand last year, but not one this year. What would the effect of that be? It could only cause these commodities to increase on the sterling market. Dealing with the position as far as subsidies were concerned, the Minister said that if a subsidy were paid, the moment that there was a change in the market price, there would be a rush of commodities to the market and everything would be upset. Mr W. Nash: But you can deal with that. Mr Coates: Yes, but we have not got as far as that yet. He added that there was strong public feeling in New Zealand in favour of going back to the old policy of laissezfaire, but the Government wanted to try to meet the difficulties that existed in this and other countries. Something had to be done and he did not care how it was done as long as it was done. The country was definitely into a period of control and other countries had gone further.