Britain Means Business In Development Of Trade Within Commonwealth"

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 15118, 29 October 1949, Page 3

Britain Means Business In Development Of T r ade Within Commonwealth"

py by president of board of S cEV trade IN LONDON

. at a luncheon of the Royal Empire Society in SpeaKiDo the president of the Board of Trade., Mr Harold Britain’s trade with the Commonwealth-from Je h st cellt hasised the development of that trade and stated He and the Government meant business in the y tbe , co !4nnient of trade with the sister nations in the |$> th

*, v eore before the war, United Kingdom in.the Commonwealth as it under 36 per cent, of j Ist, total imports UflteJ | 42 per cent, and H'i’fhaK of this y»‘i 46 P, er Canada, before che - clu tr cf the total United d'«°Srts came from the ,£ijoni in ?. omn ionwealth and the l^ ( 'andin the first half of fM no ner cent. iff Kingdom exports to the increased from 43 <{ the total exports irnmedip the war to 52 per cent. 11 ft ding Canada, the figures <■Scent, in 1934 to 1938, 48 :eJ t P today. This had been N about both by the recovery 6# b adly hit by the war ? to conscious and growing iby of trade with the health, through long-term J® 10 " „J development schemes, n the war the total value of from the Commonwealth Parted by those of Europe, , s o was the world’s largest % unit Immediately after 'the United States of America biggest exporting area, but imonwealth exports (including tied Kingdom) now surpass .trope and the United States America, and the Commonwealth f! largest single exporting and area in the world, ft is partly due of course to u velGpment of Canada s exports 'i U.S.A. and the rest of the stated Mr Wilson, ‘but even Sing Canada the CommonSexports are now 26 per cent, t trade of the world against 23 “cent, in 1938—and they are still

had been done in the colonies and the Commonwealth to develop the sources of raw materials and food supplies. Timber from Commonwealth He said that 38 per cent, of the raw material imports now came from the non-dollar area of the Commonwealth compared with 35 per cent, before the war. Fifty per cent, of the requirements in hardwood came from dollar sources in the year 1947 but now only a very small proportion indeed did so. By the use of timber control and other means the use of new and lesser known species of timber from the Commonwealth had been encouraged and the fact that the United Kingdom had been able to dispense with licensing or control over the use of hardwood a few months ago, had shown how successful this had been.

Raw cotton was a commodity, the production of which the colonies had made strenuous efforts to increase, stated Mr Wilson, and they now supplied 5 per cent, of the total imports compared with 2 per cent, before the war. Cotton production in Uganda had regained the pre-war level of 60,000 tons yearly and the introduction of new methods of cultivation and improved strains of seed were expected to increase production considerably over the next four years.

All the Nigerian export surplus came to the United Kingdom, exceeding the . pre-war amount, and further expansions were planned. The Raw Cotton Commission was negotiating long-term agreements with Nigeria and Nyasaland for the purchase of cotton and the Commission was willing to make similar arrangements with the other cotton producing colonies. The shortage of tung oil, due to the war, was being made good by development in Nyasaland where the Colonial Development Corporation was engaged on a large development project, he continued. It was expected that within fifteen years, supplies from Nyasaland and the Vipya Highlands would be sufficient tn meet the whole of the United Kingdom’s requirements. The possibility of developing Commonwealth substitutes for linseed oil was also under consideration.

# New Sources of Supply sorting to pay for current imJand to meet releases from iling balances would not, howaccount for the whole of the teT Kingdom exports to the nmonwealth, Mr Wilson con;jEij The development of new jrces of supply, especially in the lonies, had required the export a tremendous volume of capital * This had been done in the t of tremendous needs at home, try piece of electrical engineeragricultural and mining equipjjt,“every steel rail, every loco■tive, had been exported to those sptrics, only in the face of urgent ie requirements and the deads of other export markets.

In regard to hides and skins, the United Kingdom Government had switched as far as possible to Commonwealth sources and in tanning materials the development of wattle bark and mimosa had made Britain far less dependent on the Argentine, whi 1 e other types of tanning materials from Cyprus, Malaya', India and Central Africa were being developed. In British East Africa, sisal had been greatly developed to make up for the shortage of Philippine manila. In tobacco. Rhodesia supplied 15 per cent, of the United Kingdom imports compared with 5 per cent, before the war.

In spite of great shortages at home both capital and consumer goods, said, the United Kingdom had leased -the volume of exports to ; Commonwealth by 42 per cent, ive 1938, To the self-governing untries the volume of United Kingimexports was 32 per cent, above 38. and to the colonies it was 75 rcent. above. In capital goods, finding machinery and vehic’es, ivalue of United Kingdom exports the Commonwealth had increased arlyive fold and to the colonies aily six fold since before the t Even -allowing for the ineased prices, capital exports for e first half of this year had been ruling at more than double the if of 11 years ago. 'But the recovery and restoration e net sufficient,” stated the ■faker. “It is on the future iflopment of these areas that so any of us pin our hopes of a great ntribution towards a long-term lance between the sterling area ithe rest of the world.” Develop■Jt weird depend on the enter®°f the native people, and on rate enterprise, as well as that the colonial and United Kingdom ramments, but it was certain that ■ Government’s part would further importance. A new ■b whose importance could net he assessed, would be the parinln international agencies, w Wilson went on to review what

Food Imports Reviewed

Commonwealth sources sent 55 per cent, of the United Kingdom’s food imports in 1948 compared with 51 per cent, in 1938, Mr Wilson stated. Ninety-eight per cent, of the wheat last year came from the Commonwealth compared with 63 per cent, before the war. Meat imports from the Commonwealth increased from 52 per cent, in 1938, to 63 per cent, in 1948. With the exception of certain supplies, notatfiy Argentine meat, the bulk of the United Kingdom basic foodstuffs came from the Commonwealth. Of the Ministry of Food’s 53 long-term contracts, 42 were with Commonwealth countries. “I think what I’ve said should be sufficient proof cf the fact that this country and this Government means business in their development of trade with our sister nations in the Commonwealth,” Mr Wilson concluded.