THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1929 BRITAIN AND ARGENTINA.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5503, 20 November 1929, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1929 BRITAIN AND ARGENTINA.

• As a result of the British Mission to Argentina the Argentine Government now announces a reduction of 50 per cent, in the duties on fabrics and artificial silk imported from Britain, and in exchange the removal of all duties on cereals, meat, and butter imported from Argentina by Britain. No doubt this is a master-stroke of commercial diplomacy on the part of the British Mission—cheaper foodstuffs for the British workingman and a larger field for the results of his labour, and therefore the absorbing of an increasing number of unemployed into the ranks of artisan workers and the circulation of more money. But Britain’s gain is likely to become New Zealand’s loss. Already, even with the heavy duty, imports of Argentine mutton and lamb into Britain has been increasing by leaps and bounds, for together with the question of cost, the mere fact that New Zealand meat was Empire meat was nullified by the preference of the English palate for chilled meat as against frozen meat. There Argentina had every advantage, and, added to that, cheaper costs of production and transport. The ranchero of the Argentine works for a pittance when compared with the man in New Zealand, and once the meat is aboard the vessel it is the matter of from 21 to 30 days from the River Plate to London, as against at least six weeks from New Zealand. The shipping methods in vogue in the South American republic also lessen costs. There is no waste handling of carcases, no transhipment expenses. -A steamer commences loading far up the river and stops at factories on the riverbank en route until she is fully loaded. The cattle are either driven on the hoof or brought down by train straight to these factories, where they mount an incline to the slaughteryard, and thence the carcases pass from hand to hand until they are lowered into the holds of the waiting vessel. From the moment the cattle and sheep are killed until they are suspended in the ship’s hold only a remarkably short space of time has passed. The holds are left open long enough to allow the meat to cool down sufficiently, and then the hatches are clapped on and the chilling machinery set in motion. All this while the vessel is steaming down the river, thus saving time, and therefore money, again. In Spanish the River Plate is known as the Rio de la Plata —river of silver —and a veritable river of silver, nay, gold, it is, for it taps most of the 250,000,000 acres Argentina has available for cattle-raising. Serious enough wilbundoubtedly now become the question of Argentine competition in mutton and lamb, but the really great potential danger to New Zealand trade lies in butter. Before the war the Argentine attracted only the poorer class of Mediterranean emigrant of the labouring type, who lacked initiative and merely transferred his labouring activities from Europe to South America. They were eminently suitable for railroad building and the hustling work necessary in cattleraising, and to a lesser extent in sheep-raising. But after the war, finding post bellum conditions in their own countries so bad, Central Europeans began to find the Argentine an attractive place for their energies and limited capital. Not content with ordinary labouring, these German, Austrian, Swiss, Hungarian, Polish, etc., immigrants secured the smaller areas of land necessary for the work and started dairy and chicken farming—quite a new departure on any sort of a concerted scale in South America. As a result of their energies Britain imports in continually increasing quantities butter and eggs from the

Argentine. New Zealand is faced with lesser labour costs and lesser distance of transport, besides a greater number of ships employed on the route. Now that it is too late, New Zealand breeders will probably wake up and realise why the Argentine has been so keen in importing pedigree stock not only from New Zealand, but from the world at large. The challenge to New Zealand trade is serious, deadly serious ; and it is in no sense an exaggeration to say that a deadly blow has been aimed at New Zealand’s very life-blood —butter. Something must be done, and done quickly. It is not likely that the new treaty will be' abrogated ; but there must be other means found to circumvent an agreement which will do incalculable harm to New Zealand just as it appears about to round the corner of trade depression. Whatever attempt is made, the significant fact must be borne in mind that British interests have no less than £500,000,000 invested in the Argentine.