NEW ZEALAND’S MARKETS

Taranaki Daily News, 5 September 1930, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND’S MARKETS

INCREASING PRODUCTION. EFFECTS OF PRESENT TARIFF. Unless New Zealand takes some action in concert with the British Government to place Imperial preference on a satisfactory footing serious problems are ahead of this country, declared a prominent official at Wellington on Monday. In five years the Dominion will be producing another 5000 tons of dairy produce each year, if present figures of production increase are maintained. The problem of finding a market for that increased production will be great, unless consumption of Dominion dairy produce is stimulated in one or two ways. One way is to encourage the British consumer to eat more butter and cheese; the other, which is considered the more desirable, is to replace foreign dairy produce with New Zealand-made. If this is to be done the quickest and most effective way will be by levying taxation upon dairy produce imported into the United Kingdom. New Zealand has granted preference to Britain for many years past. The preferential tariff dates back to pre-war days and is far from being a post-war growth. After the 1927 revision of the tariff, which was designed to bring the various classes of duties into line, the rates laid down for various commodities fell into two large groups. Certain classes of articles were imported free, if they were Empire-made or paid 20 per cent, duty if they were foreign, while in the other large group the Brit-ish-made product paid 20 per cent, duty (which, is protection to the New Zealand manufacturer) and the foreignmade paid 40 per cent. The few exceptions fell under the beading of 15 per cent, and 35 per cent, duty, respectively. The last revision of the tariff rates, contained in this year’s Budget, is considered to be less preference than prohibition in the ease of many foreign articles. The rates are now so high that the foreign articles will be unable to compete, though in some cases they have been dominating the field, and in others (such as the watchmaking trade) there is little competition from Britain. This new and increased preference has been granted, of course, partly because of the fact that the Dominion is in urgent need of more revenue. Nevertheless, it has been granted. It is taken to be the final step which New Zealand can take in the matter of granting preference to Britain unless there is some early. and valuable concession granted by the Mother Country. Whether this concession can be granted is for the next Imperial Conference to consider. It is recognised that the only thing which would be of value to New Zealand is a duty on foreign meat, dairy produce and (possibly) wool. The granting of this is known to be hedged with political difficulties. Recent statements by Sir Basil Blackett, fonneri Secretary and Controller of Finance to the British Treasury, and representative of his country on many financial missions, indicate that there is now clear recognition in Britain of the fact that the wish to develop their own industrial fields and that this natural wish is accepted by Br.tain as just. The new attitude is regarded as likely to make for a better understanding at the coming conference, on which every hope is placed.