Goodman criticises Govt on textile policy

Press, 14 August 1980, Page 18

Goodman criticises Govt on textile policy

The Government was criticised on its policy of granting sizeable import licences for knitted goods oy the chairman of Goodman Group, Ltd (Mr G. P. Shirtcliffe) at the annual meeting of the company yesterday. The Industries Development Commission’s report on the textile industry isolated five areas of industry growth deserving active encouragement, he said.

“In two of these areas we are already heavily involved and are, therefore, well placed to take advantage of new opportunities. “In accepting some future involvement with the woollen industry, with Alliance Textiles, Ltd, and Feltex, Ltd,'we. were- glad to respond positively to the invitation from the Development Finance Corporation

to assist in the rationalisation programme which is so badly needed,” he said.

“In effect we have agreed to put back into the textile industry, in its time of need, some of the benefits we expect to accrue when the I.D.C. report is carried out. “Naturally, we _ rely on Government to implement the report so that these benefits do in fact emerge,” he said. It was therefore disappointing to see licences being granted for the importing of totally unexpected volumes of knitted goods. Not only could these extra imports erode much of the proposed encouragement to the industry, but also they would certainly reduce Goodman’s own efficiency and cut into its fledgling export achievements, Mr Shirtcliffe-said.

The directors were pleased to help Alliance Textiles and Mosgiel, Ltd. However, at present neither Feltex, nor Goodman, had any firm commitment to buy shares in Alliance Textiles.

“We will be granted options, exercisable at par, on one million shares, *and conversely, in certain circumstances, the D.F.C. could call on us to take the shares. “No financial involvement is likely, on present indications, before 1982,” Mr Shirtcliffe said.

Reporting on the activities of the diversified Goodman Group, he said that last year sales had touched the $lOO million mark, and that this momentum had been maintained in the first' three months of the current financial year.

“For some time how we have been concentrating our efforts on consolidation. This emphasis continues, and a great deal of the resources are going into efficient marketing; produc-. tion, and distribution.” Most of the development in new products was taking place in Timaru, and it would enable Goodman to bring a larger range of snack foods On to the miarket in the 1981-82 financial year. This was a growth area in the food business, he said. Mr Shirtcliffe also said that the company’s biscuit and hosiery divisions were running better this year.