ELECTRICAL DEVELOPMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 37, 12 February 1926, Page 2

ELECTRICAL DEVELOPMENTS

___4 „ (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, 29th December. The "Electrical Review devote* consid-. erable space to a summary of Mr. F. T. M. Kissell's annual report on the electrical development of New Zealand, which is now proceeding at a rapid pace. The writer comments: — "It will be Been that all imported goods have to be of substantial construction and a hipli standard of efficiency; and manufacturers in' Great Britain should make note of this when offering their goods for sale in this country. There is great scope in the Dominioh for British manufacturers, especially of domestic appliances, and it strikes one as being very strange that there are so few of them represented here. Most of /the material for installation work is British made, but it is in,the hands of rery few firms,' and regarding domestic appliances, they are almost wholly of American manufacture. There is no duty on material, apparatus, or machinery used in electrical development, or for installation work, but all domestic appliances imported are liable to 20 per cent, duty for British goods and 30 per cent, for foreign goods. Taking into consideration the extra cost of freight from Great Britain, the British manufacturer ought to be able to export goods to New Zealand to compete with American products, v he has less duty to pay. Even if he did not want to take the ri«k of exporting goods, or the expense of opening a branch in the Dominion, if be would only advertise his wares and send catalogues, and price list*, with shipping dimensions' and price* f.o.b. to the wholesale factors and electrical contractors I am sure he would be amply repaid for hi« trouble. The manufacturer of good* in the Dominion ia absolutely prohibited by the high cost of labour, and the British manufacturer's only rival ia the American."