BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29499, 28 April 1961, Page 12

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

“Difficulties In Next Decade” <N.Z Press Association/ WELLINGTON, April 27. New Zealand’s external balance of payments was going to be even more difficult to manage in the next decade than it had been for the past 10 years, a member of the Board of Trade, Mr C. R. Larsen, said tonight. ■ Addressing the Wellington branch of the Economic Society he said there was no reason to believe that the decade of 1960 would see a return to the very favourable levels of the early 1950’5. After conducting what he described as a post-mortem on past balance of payment crises, Mr Larsen said the facts showed that New Zealand had progressed some distance toward the goal of mastering her own destiny. She still, however, had a long way to go. New Zealand could have the combination of full employment and free equilibrium in overseas trading only when she had enough industries capable of meeting competition from any country. Because the large-scale structure of her farming industries provided certain natural advantages. New Zealand had managed to achieve a very high standard of living, which, in itself, made it a magnet for imports from every other country. If she wanted to naintain and increase the standard of living for a growing population. She must encourage the development of more capital intensive industries such as farming, woodpulp, paper, cement, and aluminium. Mr Larsen said that it would be further to her advantage, particularly from a long-term balance Of payments point of view, to try to own as much as she could of these highly capitalised industries.