PETTY TRADE WAR.

Evening Star, Issue 22458, 1 October 1936, Page 10

PETTY TRADE WAR.

The people of Australia and New Zealand may be forgiven if they sometimes doubt the intelligence of their politicians. Australia and New Zealand, as every primary school child knows, are not only neighbours but also members of the same great family —the British Commonwealth of Nations. Undoubtedly the inhabitants of both harbour a spirit of goodwill, each to the other, and it goes without saying that, in addition to the usual exchange of social and sporting courtesies, they would welcome the opportunity to cement the friendship and help each other by recognition of sano principles of trading. The Australian consumers would be well pleased if the embargo on New Zealand potatoes were relaxed; from time to time they have to pay for this staple article of diet double the price ruling in New Zealand. The New Zealand consumers would he equally pleased if the embargo were lifted on Australian oranges; the price of them here, despite periodic relaxation of the ban, is such as to render them something in the nature of a luxury beyond the consistent purchasing power of the majority of households. The potty and unneighbourly trade war between the respective Governments is mainly responsible for the present unsatisfactory state of affairs, and it is exasperating to dwell on the point that the embargo on Australian citrus fruits is not coming within the scope of the fruit industry inquiry recently opened in Wellington. The Australian Trade Commissioner in New Zealand has admitted that the economic and scientific reasons for the dispute have been proved mythical. The issue, therefore, remains now merely political, and unless it is quickly settled the only conclusion to be drawn is that the bulk of the people in each country will have to suffer for politi-

cal stupidity or stubbornness. Protection for growers need scarcely bo considered. New Zealand potato growers want an export market (they are turning their eyes now towards South America), and Australian citrus fruit growers wish to export their products to the Dominion. On the other hand, it is evident enough that cultivators of potatoes in the Commonwealth and growers of New Zealand fruit cannot keep pace with the demand for reasonably priced products. Moreover, the quality of the New Zealand fruit is as yet poor, and it is doubtful if Australian potatoes can compare with those of New Zealand origin. It is high time the Governments indulging in this minor warfare were relieved of the obsession that success in international trade hinges on the results of a struggle for a favourable trade balance. Were the politicians on both sides to pause for a moment to consider the opinions and desires of those who put them in power, the problem, if, in actual fact, the impasse may be termed such, would be solved without economic disaster or even ordinary inconvenience.