UN General Assembly
1959

48. In the general debate in this Assembly during the thirteenth session I ventured to lay special stress upon the importance to under-developed countries, including Australia's own neighbours in South-East Asia, of maintaining stable commodity prices and in particular of avoiding, violent fluctuations in such prices. Unfortunately I must substantially agree with the Secretary-General when he states that not much progress has been made in dealing with the problem of commodity price instability. Some progress has certainly been made, but not as much as many of us would like. In so far as it results in an over-all reduction in agricultural protectionism, my Government agrees with the Secretary-General, the World Economic Survey 1958 and the GATT panel of experts that industrial countries could significantly improve export markets for the under-developed countries by selective reductions in agricultural protectionism. My Government, and, I am sure, all countries which depend on primary products for an important part of their foreign exchange earnings, would like to establish a clear and continuing trend towards the reduction of agricultural protectionism over a wide range of primary production. The trend in recent years towards increasing agricultural protectionism in industrial countries is a cause for concern to those countries themselves because they must pay more for agricultural products. But it can also mean severe economic difficulty for the primary exporting countries whose markets and foreign income are constantly being eroded.