The Stratford Evening Post With which is Incorporated “THE EGMONT SETTLER” (Established 1890.) THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1933 Cause and Effect

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 224, 20 April 1933, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post With which is Incorporated “THE EGMONT SETTLER” (Established 1890.) THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1933 Cause and Effect

WHEN the farmer and the farmers’ organisations are discussing prices of produce the disparity between the amount received for New Zealand dairy exports and Danish butter and Canadian cheese does not appear significant. It is all blamed on the depression, but probably 50 per cent, of the trouble is due to discrimination as a measure of retaliation for our glaring selfishness. The produce of New Zealand enters Great Britain free of duty, and that does not place it at a disadvantage when it comes to be marketed. If charges increased the price by twopence or threepence a pound it is possible that the quality disposed of would be materially reduced. What is the other side of the bargain? A writer in a northern paper points out that New Zealand has an average duty against British goods of approximately 20 per cent., plus 25 per cent, artificial exchange, plus 5 per cent, sales tax. This means that an article that could he landed in the Dominion for £5 is loaded with an extra £2 I7s 6d before it reaches the retailer. It is, of course, hopeless to make up such a handicap, and British manufacturers simply cannot compete in our markets with any hope of success. Where special lines are concerned they are too expensive to buy and are not ordered by tradesmen. Ihe result of this is that Great Britain is having a very raw deal so far as New Zealand is concerned, and the low prices for our produce reflect in some measure the dissatisfaction that is felt in influential circles. This one-way trade arrangement has aroused the resentment of the importers in England and this feeling has on several occasions previously been manifested in a convincing manner. Our exporters learn their lessons slowly. When an attempt was made to dictate to the Fooley Street merchants shortly after the Dairy Control Board was constituted, it cost the dairy farmers £3,000,000. That was surely experience dearly bought, but it does not seem to have had a chastening effect. We still see only one side in this matter of trade, and one would imagine that the people of Great Britain would starve if our food supplies were not available. Valuable months are being wasted in schemes to bolster up New Zealand’s interests at the expense of her best customer, and we can only assume that the controlling authority in this country is at fault. Instead of striving to gain what amounts at the best to a Pyrrhic victory, our farming organisations should put forward every effort to extend out business in Great Britain and to seek new markets abroad. It is a pity, we think, that the Minister of Trade and Industries cannot read the Riot Act to the Control Board and ask what it is doing to imperil the business which provides nearly half the total revenue from exports. Mr. Masters appears to understand (he position, and is capable of expressing himself forcibly if given the opportunity. Some such action as this is certainly justified, because it is quite clear that there is a nigger in the wmodpile somewhere in connection with the control of our marketing system.