PRODUCTION RECORD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 26, 23 November 1945, Page 4

PRODUCTION RECORD

In total figures the contribution of the primary industries of New Zealand to the war effort is very impressive. During the period of the conflict the Dominion supplied 700,000 tons of butter, 625,000 tons of cheese and 2,039,000 tons of meat, giving- a grand total of 3,464,000 tons of major foodstuffs. Wool production was 5,400,000 bales or 825*000 tons. The total value of exports, on prices below the world parity, was £417,130,000. Of this record the farming community of New Zealand has good reason to be proud. In addition to its fighting men and women who served in the forces, New Zealand made a contribution to the common pool of Allied strength that will probably bear comparison with the effort of any equal number of people anywhere in the world. Not only the primary industries but the manufactories as well, under severe handicaps,, exemplified the vigour and determination of the young* nation. Caught in a sudden emergency, the secondary industries with remarkable success filled wide gaps in the country's requirements caused by the cessation of imports of many essentials when shipping space and the preoccupation of sources of supply abroad made a special effort necessary. But it was for the constant stream of foodstuffs that Britain had cause to be most grateful. Without the thousands of tons of meat, butter and cheese from New Zealand the people of Britain would have suffered much greater hardship during six years of trial and. P r i tion. By good fortune and particularly by the great strength of the United States the Dominion was saved from invasion by the Japanese, and though handicapped by lack of labour, fertiliser and other necessities, the farming community was able by dint of devoted work to fill the ships with food for a Britain that was always in And the primary industries will willingly pay a tribute to the men of the merchant navy who ran the gauntlet of enemy submarines and aircraft to ensure that a large proportion of the supply reached its destination. It was an example of teamwork which New Zealanders will always remember with pride and the British people with gratitude.