COMMISSIONERS’ HELP IN PROMOTING TRADE

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28958, 28 July 1959, Page 15

COMMISSIONERS’ HELP IN PROMOTING TRADE

On the trade side,* the Department of Industries and Commerce was almost wholly preoccupied with the problem of increasing sales and the prices of New Zealand’s farm exports, although it helped any exporter, whether or not he produced farm products, said Dr. W. B. Sutch, secretary of the department, in an address last evening to the council of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association.

Just as the Department of Agriculture existed to help farm production, his department existed to help the farm products to be sold overseas, said Dr. Sutch. A substantial part of the total cost of the department went into the overseas trade division and the upkeep of an expanding number of trade commissioners' posts abroad. The function of the department, so to speak, was to fill in any gaps left by the statutory marketing bodies, to the extent that money was available to do so.

Every country had regulations about its imports and the strictest and most characteristic dealt with farm products, said Dr. Sutch. The United Kingdom had a free market for New Zealand products, but nowhere else was that true. Agricultural protectionism in almost all cases resulted in quotas or prohibitions.

“It is one of the jobs of a trade commissioner to be the man on the spot when it comes to talking to government agencies about quotas and other restrictions on New Zealand products,” he said. Behind the trade commissioner service was the head office in Wellington, the senior officers having themselves been abroad on trade work.

After the trade mission to Australia, the New Zealand trade commissioners had worked with the Australian authorities on follow-up work relating to import licences. Helping Firms After speaking of the work being done in Singapore. North America, Montreal and Ceylon, Dr. Sutch said trade commissioners could and did help New Zealand commercial firms and the export boards to do more business, especially when New Zealanders went abroad, by placing their local knowledge and resources at their disposal and ensuring that the right introductions, both commercial and official. were made.

Where necessary, a trade commissioner would travel with the party from New Zealand while they were in his area, said Dr. Sutch. Publicity for New Zealand's exports was often a commissioner’s task; it often meant a display by a co-operative effort with a producer board. Exploratory work for a market

for mutton in Japan done by the commissioner was detailed by Dr Sutch. The shipments ,of mutton for trial were arranged by the manager of the Belfast works of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company (Mr D. Morten), who was in Japan at the time. Standards, trade practices and prices were subjects closely related to manufacturing, he said His department had to give administrative services. Its job was wider than manufacturing It now had a development division which gave prospective investors information on which they could make up their mind, and it had a servicing role in all regional activities. It also gave recommendations to the Customs Department on the issue of import licences, on which 1000 applications were made every week.