ECONOMIST ON TOUR

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 48, 25 August 1930, Page 12

ECONOMIST ON TOUR

TEADE WITH THE EAST

WHAT CAN BE DONE

Professor 11. Belshaw, Dean of Faculty of Commerce, Auckland University College, visited China and Japan in 1929, and there investigated the prospects of developing trade with New Zealand. His report is now issued by the New Zealand Department o£ Industries find Commerce, by authority of the Minister of the Department, Air. P. A. dc la Perrellc. Ihe report is very full and covers butter and milk products, meat, tallow, hides and leather, wool, jams and tinned fruits, and fresh fruits and vegetables. As to Japan, Professor Bclshaw states:—"ln my opinion trade prospects'in certain commodities are good, especially if existing hindrances are removed and New Zealand exporters pursue active trade policies. This particularly applies to butter, casein, tinned cream, tallow, hides and leather, and wool. In respect of condensed and dried milks and cheese, prospects may be described as moderate. In respect of beef, mutton, and lamb, jams, fruits, and vegetables, prospects are very small indeed. It must be remembered, however, that the market for most commodities is largely a price market, except where differences in quality arc important and marked." OPENINGS IN CHINA. As to Hong Kong and South China, Professor Belshaw believes that if New Zealand goods were placed on the same footing as her competitors there would be an immediate increase in the sales of many of them, and that the ultimate market, in some cases might be quite appreciable. Although the per capita purchasing power of China is small, yet the country is becoming rapidly industrialised in certain centres. The probable effect of this will be an increase in the per capita purchasing power, at any rate of certain districts, and the growth, of a larger class than at present of foremen, office workers, and the like with a larger purchasing power. Coupled with this is an increase in the affectation of European habits of food and dress. The potentialities opened up by these factors are very great.- An increase m the demand for batter, dried and condensed milks, baby foods, malted milk, and the like seems probable, and for some time will have, to be obtained from outside sources. Supplies of butter from China will require to be tinned for some time. Wool also will become more in demand as European styles of clothing tend to increase in popularity, while the demand for tallow, tinned fruits, jams, sauces, honey, and tinned meats will also be likely to increase. The poorer quality of hides and leathers are likely to meet strong competition from the local products and from rubber, but there should be«a market for good hides and leather from New Zealand, provided these can be landed at a reasonable price. The market in beef, mutton, lamb, and pig products seems capable of only limited expansion. CONTINUOUS SUPPLY. In respect of commodities which are not already known on the Hong Kong and Chinese markets, small experimental shipments to try out the market seem to be eminently worth while. In respect of all commodities, it is imperative, if markets are to be maintained, that supplies should be on the market continuously, so that they are always available and before the public. This implies also that commodities such as butter, cheese, and meat should always be sold under their own brand or trade name. The practice sometimes followed with butter of selling in bulk to traders who are likely to mix and dispose of it under their own or some other name is, in the long run, injurious. Stress is laid on the handicap on New Zealand by want of direct shipping facilities with China and Japan; involving high freights and charges as compared with Sydney; difficulty of making contracts with suitable agents: lack of publicity; need for a New Zealand Trade Commissioner for the Far East.