FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20087, 17 November 1930, Page 12

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

rOMATO GROWERS.

MONTHLY MEETING. COOK ISLANDS COMPETITION. The monthly meeting of the Clirtslehurch Tomato and Stone Fruit Growers'" Association was held on Saturday evening, when Mr H. T. Falla presided over an attendance of about 20 members. The chairman welcomed Mr G. AGreen, tho honorary secretary of the Auckland Provincial Fruitgrowers' Council and the Auckland Tomato and Soft Fruit Growers' Association, who was present at the meeting. Mr H. T. Falla. before beginning the business on tho agenda paper, drew attention to recent articles which had appeared in newspapers concerning the aiding of tomato culture by electricity. He warned members <si the Association to be careful to v.hat extent let high praise of this method guide them, as the Association had been informed recentlv bv and experts that experiments with electricity is an aid to tomato culture had not resulted in any substantially beneficial results. Thus growers were welladvised to await the result of further investigations which were to be carried out. Cook Islands Competition. A letter was received drawing attention to the fact that Cook Island merchants were now importing tomato cases from America. Formerly those merchants had imported their cases from New Zealand. The Government recently advanced the tariff on all imported timbers —10s pfer ICO revet dressed, and 9s 0d rough sawn —yet the Cook Island psople paid no duty on American cases to the detriment of growers in New Zealand. The cases were landed at Cook Islands in shooks, then filled with fruit and shipped to New Zealand, coming into the Dominion duty free with no primage, yet it the same cases were imported into the Dominion in another way they wouW be subject to duty. Mr C. Pope maintained that the Association should make some move in the matter as tho competition of the Cook Island merchants with New Zealand growers was grossly unfair. U was not the Cook Island groweis th3t were to blame but the merchants. There were only a very few growers there who were not tied hand and foo* to the merchants, and virtually it J*" as a "merchants' paradise." Further, the ruling rate of wages was Is per day, and the best wages in the Islands for native labour was £3 per month, paid to the policeman. Other members claimed that the position was an anomalous one. The Cook Tslands were supposed to bo part of New Zealand, and therefore tho cases could be brought in free of duty. It was decided to ask the Comptroller of Customs to explain tlie position in regard to duties and rebates if New Zealand growers wished to export fruit to the Cook Islands in imported cases Further it was resolved, upon the motion of Mr Pope, that a deputation should wait upon the Minister f QI " Native Affairs when he next visited Christchurch and poitit out to him the -unfairness of the conditions governing the fruit competition from the Cook Islands. , . It was decided that the Association should form a trading account. Place of Origin. After some discussion :n regard to the standardisation and grading of fruit, and the placing on it ol its place of origin, no decision was reached because the whol*> matter \va» stilt being worked upon by the Government, but members expressed the opinion that some scheme was necessary, although expense was the item to be taken into consideration. The growers did not want to have a scheme which was to be too expensive to work efficiently. One member alleged that in Christchurch some shopkeepers sold Cook Island tomatoes, telljng customers that

they were grown in local hot-houses. It was to stop that sort of thin? that a statement ot' the place of origin was essential. Imported Palp. Strong criticism was made of the importation of tomato pulp, and it was decided to send a deputation to wait upon the Manufacturers' Association asking that body to support the Association in the matter as it was a part of the Manufacturers' slogan of "Buy Sew Zealand Goods." Members stated that tomato growers were able to supply the pulp market and there should »a more protection [riven them bv the Government. FALLING PRICES. INFLUENCE ON CREDIT SUPPLIES. Ts the fall in prices due to a lessened ' volume of credit or to largely increased production of Taw materials, wheat, wool, rubber, tea. cotton, metaU, coffee, petroleum, and others? That the production of all the materials named has largely increased during recent years is notorious, and 60 the commodities being less valuable the lessened amount of credit has followed. To argue otherwise, the "Investois' Review" of London declares, would be to blame tlie barometer for the weather. A writer in the "National City Bank (New York) Review,". points out that it is a common saying that the break in the New York stock market disturbed the monetary equilibrium of the world in the latter part of 1929, which is not in conflict with the theory beginning a little further bacl: that the attraction of funds and absorption of credit by the New York stock'" market, with the eventual crash and resulting losses, together with similar developments on a smaller scale in other markets and countries, caused the disturbance. Here is another factor. In times of prosperity there is a tendency to an undue expansion of credit, often for unproductive purposes, and the reactions are necessary corrections, always accompanied by falling prices. But if it bo granted that there has been a vastly increased production in raw materials fur beyond the increases of population, ihen that alone would account for a preat deal, if not the whole, of the fall in prices, and the value of production lieinjr lessened the credit of., which that j'-odnetion is the ultimate source must c.!so be lessened. MATCH COMPANIES MERGE. An amalgamation of considerable importune ? is that announced between Bryant and L»td. t and a Swedish match company, vrhereby the letter will become partners in JSrvant and May's Australian companies. The capacity of the Melbourne factory of lijyant and May recently has been incieased, and an extension of the Federal factory in Sydney will ba commenced immediately. A r-ew factory will be erected lfi Western Australia. 1

A BRIGHTER OUTLOOK.

SOME ENCOURAGING FEATURES. There is no doubt that men holding high positions in trade and commerce and who may.,be said to be real captains of industry ore beginning to speak more optimistically of the immediate futures and this is all to the good, for the psychological effects are bound to prove beneficial in the long *run (savs the "Mercantile Gazette"). • It would, of course, be absurd to jump to the conclusion, from the prophetic utterances of a few leading men, that prosperity ivill come in with a rush, and that, people need do nothing but wait for the change-over. The truth is that as past experience teaches us, a major and world wide trade depression is not overcome in the space of a tew months. Even when the bottom is reached there is the usual period of what may be termed convalescence when people are developing confidence, and this period mav last a year or more. What business men indicate when they state that the outlook is brighter is that there are now signs that the fall in commodity prices is approaching its end. Those who have followed the trend of commodity valuta in recent months will not be indisposed to oonlirm this view. In September there is a general decline in commodity values as compared with the preceding month, but in October tne fall was not general but patchy. isomc raw materials like cotton, rubber, au< copra showed a slight rise in prices, and copper also showed a slight improvement. This is the encouraging teature of the situation, but the evidence of a change is not strong enough to bullet I up any strong hopes The federation of British Industries indulges in quarterly forecasts, and m tho latest of such forecasts tne opinion is expressed that the worst days °, trade, depression have passed, and that some of the more persistent causes or our industrial ills are about to undeigo a permanent change for the better. In support of this it i- pointed out that the world gold situation is easier. The United States and France together hold more than 50 per -cut. of the world's gold, a total far \u oxcoss of the reqnirements of the respective countries, which consequently has resulted in a considerable r;"antitv of gold being sterilised. If t-licso two countries, and es;:ecinl!y the United States would lend more freely to foreign countries which need sold'as a basis for their credit structure the situation would ease promptly and rapidly. But both France and the United States maintain high and almost 'prohibitive tariffs, an<J countries borrowing from j thorn will have no end of trouble in paying the interest on whatever sums they may borrow because of the tariff impediment". Debtor nations are finding it very difficult to meet their war debt engagement with the United States and per contra the foreign trade of the United States is shrinking. Some people go so far as to assert that America, if she desires to retain her present prohibitive tariff, must cancel the whole or nearly the whole of tho. war debt due to her. On tho other hand if she desires that the debtor nations should meet their obligations to her she must greatly | modify the tariff. The debtors cannot pay in gold, for they have none of it to "spare, but they can pay in goods and services. This they are prohibited from doing by the high protection tariff. Keverting to the forecast of the Fed- ! eration of British Industries, it is stated that the world credit position is less rigid, short term money rates being at the lowest level since the war except in Berlin. This, of course, is the direct result of the slackness of international trade causing short term funds to accumulate. There is, however, a great disparity between the short term and long term rates, and. when the latter move in the same direction as the short term rates we may safely assume that confidence is returning, but, as the Federation observes, they have a long way to go before the price of capital is down to the level required to restore the balance between investment and saving. This fact makes ono wonder how the speculators in bank shares and in others of the better class shares

cxpoct to become wealthy on capital appreciation. It may be that the fall in commodity values has been partly arrested, but a long time must elapse before the economic position is easier and much longer before it is sound and in the meanwhile a good many adjustments made and false steps in our national life restored. COUNTRY'S FINANCES. PRICES AND COSTS. The necessity of exercising all-round economy was stressed by "Mr AVill Appleton, of Wellington, when speaking at the Optimists' Club luncheon at Wellington on Friday, on the subject of the present financial depression. He said that there had been a cry for "the reduction of wages, in particular Civil servants' wages. Everyone l,atl to share in the sacrifice. lie pointed out that all costs had to be reduced. At the present, export prices of New Zealand commodities were about 20 per cent, above 1914 levels, but wages were over 00 per cent, above f-hafc levelPerusals of stock exchange lists showed that during the past few months both capital values and average dividends of leading stocks had dropped anywhere up to 40 per cent, on the average. The present was a time for a 'closer co-operation between capital ar.d labour. He expressed the opinion that the Government and the municipal authorities should give a lead to the people in the reduction of unnecessary publii expenditure. An item he thought that should be tackled at once was the elimination of standard rates of pay on relief works. Sensible business men would agree that railway construction at the present time was unjustified. If the money that was being spent on railway construction was devoted to the opening up of land, we would receive something for the money. In reference to education, he considered that New Zealand was wasting thousands of pounds each year in providing educational facilities that were unnecessary. Secondary education «| was a very fine thing, but there was an endeavour to impart higher education to boys and girls which was not warranted by the ability they displayed. In conclusion, he said he had no doubt whatever about the ultimate recovery _of New Zealand. One of the bright- ' est features was the fact that from all parts of the Dominion reports were being received indicating heavy production in the principal lines of primary products. UNION OIL. The directors of the Union Oil, Soap, and Candle Co. announced payment of ■final dividend of 9d per shave plus a bonus of t>d, making 2a for the year. This is the eame rate of distribution as last year. The' •crip consists of £1 shares paid to 16».