EXPORT OF N.Z. GOODS

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27380, 19 June 1954, Page 6

EXPORT OF N.Z. GOODS

ATTENTION TO ASIAN MARKETS URGED RECORD of; dominion MANUFACTURERS Under the heading, “Asia wants your goods,” a leading article in the “New Zealand Manufacturer” urges New Zealand firms to explore The possibility of marketing their products in Singapore, Malaya, Ceylon, India, Burma, Indonesia and the Sodth Sea islands. “Countless millions” in these countries are short of many goods that are made in New Zealand, the article says. Several of the countries export to New Zealand much more than they import from this country, and at the same time they buy from other Commonwealth sources goods that could be supplied by New Zealand. “New Zealand manufacturers have the opportunity to enter these markets, earn valuable overseas exchange, and, by increasing their output, lower their unit costs. It is surely up to each manufacturer to investigate the position very carefully and see if he fits into this’ new and attractive pattern of overseas trade. “Participation in the Singapore Trade Fair in August is suggested by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr J. T. Watts) is one means of displaying to the buyers of the East the variety of quality products New Zealand has to offer. This fair is the shop window for a vast area and New manufactured goods could well make an attractive display. Needs of U.S. Market “Opportunities for exporting manufactured goods do not lie only in the Orient. Even the United States of America offers limited but profitable markets for the enterprising manufacturer. New Zealand industrialists will have to adopt forceful selling methods and look to their packaging and labelling—but rich rewards are there to be won. “New Zealand industry has shown that it can* produce many goods equal in quality to any other country. Now is the time for it to show that its selling ability is equal to its manufacturing skills.” In the same issue of the journal are reports of New Zealand industries whose products are already established in overseas markets. The Wellington firm of Dishmaster, Ltd., according to the article, exports more than half its output to Australia, Britain, Holland, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa. Italy, Persia, Kenya, Uruguay and Guatemala.

British Teltherm Company, Ltd., an Auckland firm with a staff of only 15, exports about £6OOO worth of industrial thermometers to Australia. New Zealand apparently has an advantage over Australia in the raw materials required for children’s pencil cases. The case needs a lid loose enough to slide easily when the case is new, but not so loose that it falls out when tfee case begins to wear, and the Auckland firm of Thomas Holdsworth and Sons has discovered that a matai lid in a kahikatea case is ideal. Up to 500 gross of this firm’s cases are exported to Australia annually. The Christchurch firm of Andersons. Ltd., is another whose export record is mentioned in the article. A standard export line, according to the article, is the world’s biggest churn, which makes 100%oxes of butter every two hours. “Probably the biggest regular product of the New Zealand engineering industry, Christchurch-made churns may be seen at work in Australia, India, Kenya and Britain, as well as in New Zealand.”