MEAT EXPORT RESTRICTION

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20734, 18 February 1939, Page 6

MEAT EXPORT RESTRICTION

Reduction by 3 per cent, of the present quotas of mutton and lamb from New Zealand and Anstralia imported into the United Kingdom have been made despite the opposition of the Dominion representatives on the Empire Meat Council. The announcement is unpleasant news for New Zealand producers, but whether the restriction will result in a surplus of the products in the Dominion next season will not be known until the probable output can be assessed. The restriction order does, however, set a limit beyond which the trade with Britain cannot be expanded at a time when increased exports are of vital importance to the Dominion. The British decision represents a considerable change in policy, but it was not wholly unexpected when Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith, former president of the British National Farmers’ Union, was appointed to the Cabinet with the portfolio of Agriculture. Low prices for mutton and lamb produced in the United Kingdom have resulted in an outcry by British farmers for increased protection. The President of the Board of Trade told the House of Commons that he believed the restrictions "would increase the price of home-grown meat. It may be taken for granted that the restrictions to which Britain is now committed will not readily be removed. Expressing regret that the step had been taken, the Hon. W. Nash was unable to indicate the probable effect in New Zealand, but he did give an indication that the Government was seeking an alternative market for any possible surplus mutton and lamb. If there was a surplus, he believed the Government would be able to deal with it in some other way and that New Zealand would be able to adapt itself to the new conditions. News of the restriction must be a bitter pill to swallow by the Minister who has had most to do with the imposition of restrictions on imports into New Zealand.