‘BEST DEAL’ VERDICT

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31005, 10 March 1966, Page 1

‘BEST DEAL ’ VERDICT

(From Our Own Reporter)

WELLINGTON, March 9.

The chairman of the Dairy Board (Sir Andrew Linton) was today preparing a statement on the new butter quotas.

As an adviser to the Government negotiators in London he is expected to say that the agreement was the best deal New Zealand could win in the circumstances.

As leader of the dairy industry in New Zealand he is expected to reinforce Mr Holyoake’s misgivings about the apparent lack of stimulus to currently-depressed prices as a result of the arrangements.

New Zealand pressed for. but failed to secure, abandonment of air supplementary quotas. Nevertheless, the import situation for the coming year

is in itself more encouraging than the industry feared and seems likely to earn a qualified welcome. Other factors apart from imports now become the kernel of New Zealand discontent at prevailing and probable continuing low prices. At the beginning of the present quota year London butter stocks stood at 34.000 tons. By the end of this month when the new quotas take effect they are officially expected to be between 80.000 and 90,000 tons. On top of this. British domestic production is expected to increase by 5000 tons to a total of 45.000 tons during the year, further saturating the market.