Principal Agricultural Acts of the Union. 441 



(b) THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE EXPORT ACT, 

 Xo. 35 OF 1917. 



This Act provides for the inspectiou and orading of agricultural 

 produce which is to be exported by sea from the Union for purposes 

 of sale, the inspection of premises used for the slaughter of animals 

 for such export or for the preparation and manufacture of such 

 produce. 



No agricultural produce nu^y be exported unless it has been 

 inspected and branded by an inspector. This does not apply to wool, 

 mohair, or ostrich feathers (fresh fruit is specially dealt with in Act 

 No. 17, 1914), but includes meat or any product thereof, butter 

 (creamery, ungraded farm, and cooking), cheese, eggs, and any article 

 whatever produced or derived by farming operations; also (see Act. 

 No. 16, 1922, section 11) any such article whether or not it has under- 

 gone any change of form as a result of some process applied to it since 

 it was produced or derived. 



The Governor-General may from time to time proclaim various 

 articles to be agricultural produce for the purposes of the Act and its 

 regulations. This has been done in respect of maize, maize products, 

 oats, bran, rye, beans, peas, lucerne seed, katRr corn, millet, barley 

 (Proclamation No. 79, 1921), and dried fruit (Proclamation No. 80, 

 1921). 



The produce of any animal which is infected with disease, and 

 agricultural produce unfit for human consumption or unlikely to reach 

 its oversea destination in a marketable state, may not be exported, 

 and the inspector will determine this. An appeal against a decision 

 by an inspector nuiy be made to a board which will be appointed by 

 the Minister, provided the aggrieved person deposits sufficient to cover 

 the costs of the board. This amount will be refunded if the appeal 

 is upheld by the board, whose decision is final. 



Produce found on inspection to be unfit for human consumption, 

 and any animal to be slaughtered for meat export and found to be 

 so infected with disease as to render the meat unfit, may be destroyed 

 or so disposed of that it cannot be used for human consumption or 

 animal food. 



Any one desiring' to have an animal the meat of which is 

 intended for export slaughtered at any abattoir or slaughtering place, 

 must give due notice to the owners thereof, who, before permitting it, 

 must obtain the sanction of the Minister; likewise, he must have the 

 sanction of the Minister to use his own premises if required for that 

 purpose. Abattoirs and slaughtering places used for meat export pur- 

 poses must be sanctioned by the Minister, whose sanction may be 

 withdrawn at any time where any premises (with the necessary 

 appurtenances and facilities) are not kept in a suitable condition. 



The Act empowers the Governor-General to proclaim the specific 

 designation, quality, and standards of composition (including mois- 

 ture-content), etc., of produce intended for export, and to prohibit the 

 export of agricultural produce which has been so treated as to give it 

 the appearance of an article of different commercial value. He may 

 also make regulations as to the following matters relating to agricul- 

 tural produce intended for export : The inspection of animals and 

 produce and the premises in which slaughtering or manufacturing, 



