MEW ZEALAND TRADE

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 148, 22 June 1918, Page 4

MEW ZEALAND TRADE

I WITH BRITISH GOODS. SERIOUS LOSS. '" NUCLEUS OF WIDER SCHEME. v '•%? A statement regarding New Zealand ■ trade which discloses a somewhat serious ' i.[:. '■'■'-. position was made by Mr. IJ. W. Dalton. . Pritish Trade Commissioner for New -■ : Zealand, this morning. At present Mr. Dalton said, the position was that we 'i were losing trade very heavily, ■ the : * figures for the last year showing a great'- ■ '■' decrease in the share of the United ■"-'".. Kingdom in the total trade with New Zealand. Before the war this share * -"_ amounted to 65 per cent, in 1917 it had' V fallen to 45 per cent, and this year it bad fallen still further. A good deal of ;'.;, ' competition from foreign countries had ■'■■ J-:". : !i';';. entered. Some of this would be difficult, '-.';;■ to cope with after the war was over, and • f. the longer the war lasted the more seri- ; .VV;% ous the position was likely to become. . It was necessary therefore, to take steps '■'-" .'/,' t at present to keep alive the undoubted , ■' sympathy which existed in New Zealand - .' towards British trade. - This was the'-'f.-•-■''=.■''■'-reason why, under extremely difficult r'/4-/ circumstances, he had organised exhibi- j ■';',, '-'. tions of British goods during the past two years at various agricultural shows. As the result of these exhibitions there ' , had been a wave of patriotic feeling -in ; .'•:'{;\ : ; the centres in which the exhibitions had ' ..''.-'•■".-". been' held, all the traders in such centres making a point of impressing upon their, customers the desirability of supporting British trade wherever they could. V"./ Apart from the purpose of these exhibi-S.'-fr,V"'" tions in strengthening British sentiment. " they were the nucleus of a much wider scheme which would be put into operation as soon as the war was- over . and . goods for exhibition purposes were avail- ■,"■■ able. With the approval and co-opera- ,'V Jtion of the Imperial Department of ... Overseas Trade he was now making ~; arrangement for the organisation oflarger exhibitions when the war was > over. These exhibitions would probably A> _ be held in the main centres, or in some ?;"'•"*;:. '.'; suitable railway centie, and the proposal was part of the policy of the Imperial s Government for taking active steps to develop .British■-.' trade by Government '-.'■; support in after-war years. Experience". had shown him' that these exhibitions would. form valuable mediums to manufacturers in Great .Britain and buyers \ ' overseas. . 'Although the■'■-"exhibitionsr-which he had held up to the present had -. .." been very small, some of the wealthiest ' - I firms in England had taken part. In' the exhibition just held at Palmerston. North he estimated that the , capital of ,;- r ; the concerns taking part/was not less --:, than £25,000,000. Some' of these firms \~\ were : now producing almost *'■- entirely :. : " , goods for war requirements, arid were not in a position to acecpt orders for.'■ •. ::-,; immediate Vlelivery. ■ Nevertheless they -..;>; , had ;.' realised ;•■ the, value ' of t these , ;... exhibitions as a means of keeping their . name and goodwill alive. ; Continuing, Mr. Dalton stated that he. had '-; received instructions ; from .the - Im-, perial Government to proceed to Eng-;••■•. land on. an ■ official 'visit,'' leaving 'New' ' \ Zealand not later than; the beginning of September next: He would then ; have " an opportunity ,of seeing : for ; himself ,pl what developments had taken.place*ld , -".. ■ England since he left two years ago, and! 'J** ? \i of placing • before the? Government and ,'X manufacturers his" views regarding the I,:>"ii-, problems which the trade of -New Zea-.-land offered, and the best means of solv- . '.- -. ing them. !At ; present' he "was : ; leaving Auckland in a few days for Fiji to con?-' plete his inquiries into the trade of the islands. , ■■''/■