MARKETS FOR PRODUCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 December 1920, Page 8

MARKETS FOR PRODUCE.

ENGLAND AND CONTINENT. 1 EXPORTS FROM DOMINION. "GOOD TIME" FOR PRODUCERS. s An address on the industrial situa- < tion in the Old World and the outlook '< for New Zealand produce was given | at a large gathering of farmers at Masterton recently by Mr. J. 0. Cooper, managing director of the Wellington . Farmers' Meat Company, of Masterton, | • who has just returned from a visit to j England, France Germany, and Holland. Mr. Cooper said that after years of | hard work through the war period there I was a reaction when peace was declared. People who had, all through the war,! kept hard at work engaged in an orgy of extravagance as soon as peace came. Money was spent wildly, and industries, instead of producing tilings which were very badly needed, turned out luxuries. Everywhere factories sprang up to provide what the people demanded and pandered to this whirlwind of extrava- '■ gance. Now the state of affairs was i exactly the opposite, and people were I economising to a very rigorous extent and were going without things in order . to fight the high prices of goods. Banks were rationing out money only to those concerns •which were producing goods actually required by the world and which were to he exported. Business firms were told to reduce their overdrafts, clear out their stocks, and put their concerns on a sound financial footing. This policy was producing much unemployment in England. Thousands of people in the Old Country were going to experience a very black winter. All this would be reflected on New Zealand, and it all had a very important hearing- on the meat and wool industries of the Dominion. During the orgy of extravagance men and women alike would _ have only the best of clothing, and fine wools were in demand. To-day a reaction had set in, and coarse wool { would again come into its own. When I he was at Homo in August the outIward movement of crossbred wool in London was comparatively heavy. He! then thought the trouble with crossbred j wool was over, but in .September the demand died down. This was the result of banks at Home insisting on the large houses reducing their stocks and putting their business in proper financial order.

SERIOUS POSITION IX FRANCE. France, ho found on his visit, has ufi'ered terribly through the destrucion of her factories in the war, paricularly the woollen mills. In many aetories tlie whole of the loom.-; had •ither been destroyed or stolen by the .iermans. The coal question was aiso i serious matter in France, and one French engineer had informed him that it would be five years before the coal mines in France were working at the same level as before the war. He stated that thf.' British agricultural methods were a revelation to him. The improvement on the methods of four years ago, when he was at Home, was marvellous. He saw more tractors than horse teams at work on farms. An enormous amount of wheat had been grown last season, and crops in the east of England were as good as anywhere in the world. Farmers were getting as much as possible out of the land, and the most modern methods were being used by English farmers. In Franco he found just the opposite state of affairs. Antiquated methods were used. The plough in use was of the same pattern as that which the French farmer of one hundred years ago adopted. While he often saw women drawing the harrows The land was really only scratched. From what he saw close settlement was being overdone in France. E(-!gium presented a great contrast to France. Hei'e there was energy and progress both in farming life and industries. 'Belgium was buying our wool, and he ventured the opinion that in two years Belgium would be as great a producer and exporter as ever. Hoi land, said Mr. Cooper, was really a pro vince of Germany. There was everywhere German influence and open synv pathy for the Germans. Holland's chi.-.i trade was with Gcmiany. and sne waan outlet for German goods. Hollanr was very anxious to see Germany re stored again. British hankers were iu.l in a position to finance Germany excpl at the expense of the British people anf British industries. I RECOVERY IN GERMANY.

Germany must right herself, and this ?he would eventually do. Germany was not as bad industrially as many people thought. Everywhere factories were in full working order, and industrially Germany was working at high pressure. She was sending a lot of goods to England, and was doing an 'mmense amount of harm to English industries. Germany must have fats, and eagerly sought after tallow. Much of the tallow sent by his firm to Holland was eventually sold to Germany, fie was of opinion that Germany would be the first nation to recover f,om the war. "We will never gel the whole of the indemnity from the Germans. They will fight us first." said Mr. Cooper. Germany was now more united than she had ever been. He did not think that we would get much more indemnity from Germany than we had received. There was no question but Germany was preparing to light the war over again. Germany for the most part was guiding the armies of Paissia. Their do- | gan is "Russia for us.'' They wanted to make Russia a field of exploitation for Germany. ' BIG PRICKS VOU PRODUCE. Unless there was a financial crisis at Home or some great upheaval, New Zealand would for years to come get big prices for her meat and dairy produce. He considered the producers in New Zealand were going to have a , good time. "You will get prices >ou never dreamed of," he said. He referred to combines in the meat trade and said lip viewed with uneasy feelings the prospect of the big English and Amet rican meat combines coming to an undeistanding which would do away with ail competition. Nothing would pay Nrw Zealanl so well as her lambs. The ' people of England did not want very fat lambs or mutton. What was want. ' ed at Home were lambs from 321b to 3 3(!lb weight, just fat and no more. In ' mutton, England wanted sheep under £-t$ll). America was going to be a very f important market for New Zealand 1 lamb, but England would be our best and biggest market.