The Dominion. TUESDAY, MAY 4, 1920. EXPORT TRADE PROSPECTS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 187, 4 May 1920, Page 6

The Dominion. TUESDAY, MAY 4, 1920. EXPORT TRADE PROSPECTS

The problem of meeting the new conditions of export trade that will arise with the termination of the Imperial commandeer a couple _ of months hence has not yet received all the attention that is desirable. Some of the principal questions involved were considered at a conference convened by the Board of Agriculture in February last, but the representative meeting of producers and allied interests it was then proposed to summon at an early date has not yet been held. Any further avoidable delay in this matter clearly would be most unwise. Particularly as regards wool and meat, such prospects are raised as plainly demand organised action on the part of producers, with some assistance from the Government. So far as the meat export tracle ; is concerned, the need of special measures is manifest, and it seems' possible that a full disclosure of the facts • relating to the export of wool may ' show that thero are still more formidable difficulties to be overcome in obtaining a good market for that commodity in the period atcly following the termination of the commandeer. In a letter to the Prime Minister dated February 16, 1920, the British DirectorGeneral of Raw Materials (Sin Arthur Goldfinch) indicated that considerable stocks of New Zealand wool, and particularly of coarse crossbred wool, were likely to remain unsold in the hands of the British Government when the new season opened. The unfavourable I impression thus conveyed is, ho>vI ever, modified to some extent by some observations made by Sir ■ Arth(?r Goldfinch a month later in a letter to the London Times. He was concerned on this occasion to answer a charge that his Department had imported wool in undue quantities, relatively to other imports, and stated, amongst other things, that the stocks of wool then i in hand (March 4) amounted bare-

Iy to two months.'' supply, and were "the absolute minimum upon which the selling brokers can keep up the regular flow of wool through the auctions." Account, of course, has to be taken of stocks afloat and awaiting shipment,- "but as he summed up the position in March, Sir' Arthur Goldfinch seems to have taken a rather more hopeful view than in his earlier communication to the Prime Minister. The element of doubt which remains makcs.it still the more necessary that tho position should be cleared up as fully as possible without delay. It is already evident that both wool and meat will havo to bo disposed of for a time on a market somewhat seriously overstocked and in conditions made difficult bv the congestion of stores and probably by The problems involved cannot too soon be reduced as far as possible to their true dimensions, for this, of course, is an essential preliminary to shaping und giving effect to such a policy as will meet the occasion. The Government and producers ought to arrive at a clear understanding in regard to the amount of pressure it is fair and advisable to bring to bear on the British Government to relieve the existing congestion by reducing prices of the stocks in hand and in other ways. There seems to be a strong case for urging a much more substantial reduction than has yet been made in the price of New Zealand meat. In working back to normal conditions of wool export other measures may be advisable. It ought to be considered, for instance, whether New Zealand growers would be wise to follow the example set in Australia of forming, a wool council to control marketing in the transition period. Everything that can be done, however, to hasten the relief of congestion and secure the best market available will leave producers in this country confronted by problems of finance from which they were immune while the Imperial com* mandcer continued. At best, serious delays in shipment and sale, and therefore in payment, seem to be inevitable, and it is likely that in the absence of special measures many producers would be unable to meet these conditions and .carry on their industry. It ought not to be difficult, however, to meet the position by timely Government action in the direction of- making advances on produce for such a period as the exigencies of the transition from the conditions of the commandeer to those of normal trading may demand. It would be disastrous to the whole country as well as to primary producers if the latter were denied the financial aid required to tide them over a period which promises to present in some respects unprecedented difficulties. When he was interviewed by delegates to the February conference the Prime Minister indicated that he regarded as reasonable their requests that producers should be assisted in meeting difficulties arising from the ending of the commandeer and the congestion of stores. As a tentative attitude this fairly meets the case, but the outlook is so far uncertain that the representative conference proposed in February certainly ought to be summoned at the earliest possible moment.