A Traditional Exporter's Perspective of Trade Reforms

The agriculture and trade policies which governments commonly have pursued over the last three decades, particularly governments in the large developed countries, have had a major impact on world patterns of production and trade in livestock and livestock products. This has been especially so for milk and dairy products where government involvement in markets has been most pervasive. One effect has been that the comparative advantages derived from the production of livestock products based on pasture feeding of animals \lave been suppressed or overridden. Reform of the international trading system for agricultural products now being developed in the GATT, and the changes 10 agriculture policy ,which are likely to accompany these, are expected to begin to reverse some of these trends. This paper gives an economic perspective on the direction of recent developments in these areas and describes some of the implications for grassland farm management practices. Material has been drawn primarily from experience with dairy production and trade but the conclusions have a broader application with respect to pasture-based livestock farming.