FOR PRESS. ( Statement by the Minister for Trade, Mr. John McEwen, M. P.)
Mr. MoEwen said today that he had a sympathetic
understanding of the serious problem revealed in President Kennedy's
message to the United States Congress proposing curtailment of the
production of food and other agricultural products. The President
indicated that this curtailment would need to be either through an
arbitrary reduction in production or, indirectly, through reduced
governmental price supports.
Mr. McEwen said that the United States dilemma was
the production of many commodities, through from wheat to cotton,
much in excess of the home demand and in excess of commercial export
opportunities. This has come about through governmental price support.
Not only was this a financial problem for the United
States Administration, but the great surpluses remaining unsold
represented a serious factor overlying international commercial trade
in these commodities.
0 ~ Mr. McElwen said that, while understanding the United
States dilemma, he thought it would be a matter of even greater
concern if the richer, highly developed countries had to
deliberately curtail agricultural production when so many in
underdeveloped countries had insufficient food or clothing.
Mr. McEiwen said he believed the Western World could
make a vital contribution to the needs of great masses of people in
underdeveloped countries by making foodstuffs and some other
essential commodities available on less than commercial terms to the
hungry people and the needy nations, This would be a factor in
sustaining political stability ond offsetting the blandishments of
Communist countries in the underdeveloped countries.
Mr. Mc1lwen said he had always advocated a solution
of commodity problems on a world-wide basis. In cases where
a .2.
surpluses in the wealthy agricultural countries went side by side
with need in underdeveloped countries, it should be possible to make a
further significant contribution towards meeting this need, while
farmers still received overall a satisfactory price for their produce.
Mr. McEwen said that he believed that this could be
achieved if farmers receiLved a more realistic price for what they sold
for consumption within the areas of high living standards. If in
such countries, ranging from Australia, Argentina, United States,
France and the United Kingdom, which are all great food producers,
the Governments were relieved of the great burden of price support
of their farmers, these Governments could devote the same funds
towards supply of food and materials at less than commercial prices.
Further, he belie-\ ed that if farmers in these producing
6countries received, for wihat they exported to Europe and the United
StaZtes and high living standard countries, the same price as was
received by their local producers for the same products the
exporting farmers could, and he bIelieved would be prepared to sell
Wo underdeveloped countries at something less than the price received
from high standard of living countries.
Such an arrangement would establish a most enduring
basis of help for the needy people, and overall, be in the interests
of the farmers. The whole Western World would gain a moral and diplomatic
diplomatic uplift and the costs would be more equitably borne
among the Western Powers than had been the case in recent years.
Mr, McEwen said that he thought the greatest
opportunity to examine such thinking could come about when the
special meeting of certain G. A. T. T. countries, including Australia,
~ occurred in Geneva in a couple of weeks' time to consider grains,
particularly wheat, on the initiative of a French proposal.
Canberra, 3rd February, 1962, Y-