Trade Commissioner On Exports To India

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30277, 1 November 1963, Page 7

Trade Commissioner On Exports To India

New Zealand must trade more with Asia, the New Zealand Trade Commis-sioner-designate to India, Dr. W. A. Brooker, told 10 members of the Canterbury

Manufacturers' Association, in an informal meeting. For the last 21 months Dr. Brooker has been New Zealand Trade Commissioner in Sydney.

There was no doubt that on the long term basis New Zealand's future was tied up very definitely with Asian countries, he said. “It is in our interest to see toe standard of living in the Asian community rise as quickly as possible. That is where our future markets will undoubtedly lie.”

Dr. Brooker, who will leave New Zealand on November 15 to take up his four year pest in New Delhi, said his job would very largely be a reporting and watching brief. India was desperately short of foreign exchange. He thought Ceylon, which would also come under his jurisdiction, was not much better off.

The inquiries he would make about Indian, Ceylon and Nepal markets would be on the short-term, mediumterm and long-term basis.

At the present moment the present balance of trade between India and New Zea-

land was very much in India’s favour. He thought that New Zealand’s trade with Ceylon was also very much in Ceylon’s favour. Today New Zealand exported £i million worth of goods to India a year but imported £4j million worth a year from there, Dr. Brooker said.

New Zealand’s main exports to India were tallow and milk powder. Her main imports from India were jute for wool sacks and coin sacks, as well as jute fibres for making twine. Others included cotton-piece goods and tea.

Dr. Brooker said that New Zealand had lost some of her exports to India through import licensing imposed by India. New Zealand hoped that it would be able to recommence exporting both butter and ghee to India when India’s standard of living improved.

New Zealand milk powder with high protein content being exported to India was mixed there with locallyproduced buffalo milk, Dr. Brooker said.

Laboratory Technologists.— Successful candidates in toe final examination for the certificate of proficiency for hospital laboratory technologists included Miss Margaret H. F Cox (Christchurch), Michael J. Gratton (Christchurch), Mrs Diane M. Phillips (Ashburton) .—(PA.)