Singapore food week defended

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32430, 17 October 1970, Page 21

Singapore food week defended

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, October 16.

New Zealand’s food week promotion in Singapore had been described by the New Zealand Trade Commissioner in Singapore as worth while, and one from which only good could be achieved, the Minister of Overseas Trade (Mr Marshall) said in Parliament.

He said the Trade Commissioner had listed some shortcomings in the promotion. He was replying to Mr M. A. Connelly (Lab., Wigram), who asked if overseas trade promotion methods would be overhauled in the light of a report by the N.Z.P.A. stat! correspondent in Singapore that the food promotion was “another campaign hurriedly prepared and un-co-ordinated with no support from individual exporters.” Mr Marshall said the promotion had been prepared in less than three months to make use of Dairy Board staff

returning from Exjpo 70 in Japan. A similar promotion in Melbourne last year had been eight months in planning. The short time available had given little time for ordering and shipping extra goods, and the range of food products already sold in Singapore had to be relied on, he said. This range included, as well as dairy products and meat, canned fruit, vegetables, soups, frozen foods, biscuits, honey, potatoes, fish, paua meat, game meat and deei essence.

Mr Marshall said he did not think any major overhaul was warranted, but efforts would be made to see that the same mistakes were not made again. Some improvements were made as a result for this week’s promotion in Kuala Lumpur. An earlier promotion in Hong Kong was not criticised, and had resulted in the stores involved asking for a repeat next year, he said.