DOMINION PRODUCE IN BRITAIN

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 296, 13 September 1927, Page 3

DOMINION PRODUCE IN BRITAIN

DISTRIBUTION COSTS TOO HIGH WORK OF CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE Dominion Special Service Auckland, September 12. British manufactures, in the opinion of Sir William Lennon Raws, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Australia, who arrived at /Auckland bv the Aorangi oil his way back to Sydney, are taking a greater interest in Australia and New Zealand as fields of enterprise. ‘.‘The conception of Empire as art economic whole is rapidly- gaining ground against the old idea of international trade, irrespective of whether it is within the Empire or not,” he said. “So far as the demand for, and consumption of, Australian and New Zealand products in England are concerned, the problem is that of distribution.” Costs Too High. The cost of distributing our foodstuffs in Britain was yet too high, he had found. English people saw no reason why they should be asked to pay more for Empire than foreign products, and there was, he believed, an element of reaction against the appeals of sentiment made by some politicians and others to “buy British,” when to do so was expensive, and when England was poor. A welcome was tendered to the visitor by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. Mr. A. G. Lunn, the president, said, everything should be done to bind the ties of commerce between Australia and New Zealand. In this respect the Auckland Chamber of Commerce would do all it could do to help matters. - t-< Co-ordination Between Chambers fit . Commerce. Replying, Sir William said that two . years ago he discussed with representalives of New Zealand Chambers of Commerce the question of closer co-ordina- . tion between the associated Chambers of Commerce of Australia and New Zealand. The associated Chambers .of Australia had decided to join with

the International Chamber of Commerce, and he did not see why New Zealand should not join with Australia and become a member of the international body. “We felt it was desirable to put all the weight we had behind an organisation endeavouring to approach the ideals of international peace through commercial channels,” stated Sir William. "The value of such a body lies in the reports on all subjects of interest furnished by the permanent commission with headquarters in Paris. In Europe and in the United Kingdom there was a real desire among leading commercial men to aim at an international peace so far as commercial interests were concerned at any rate. The great trouble in Europe to-day lay in the small states, many of which had been created as a result of the war, erecting tariff barriers around them. There Was a feeling that until these barriers were removed there could not be complete peace in Europe. Sir William intimated that when he returned to Australia he would make it his business to see that New Zealand was invited to join up with Australia and become a member of the international body.