"A MENACE"

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 26, 31 July 1933, Page 5

"A MENACE"

JAPANESE EXPORTS

POSITION IN TEXTILES

From time to time cablo reports and letters, have appeared jiu the Press calling attention to Japanese- competition iv manufactured, products. Only, however, those actually engaged in handling merchandise- realiso tho extent to which Japanese productions have ousted British and Continental goods. The rate at which this has been progressing is littlo short of astounding. Tho writer proposes to refer only, . to textiles, though practically all classes of merchandise aro experiencing sijnilar conditions, says A. C. Wilcox in an article in tho "Sydney Morning Herald." As far as competition with textiles produced in Australia is concerned, there is not much trouble. '.Thanks to prohibitive rates of duty, Australian textiles seem to havo but little to fear. Nor would there bo much causo to complain if Japanese goods wero merely ousting the goods of other foreign countries. Japan is a very good customer of ours, and reciprocal trading must be one of the great achievements of tho World Economio Conference, if any great .progress is to be recorded. But when we find that Japanese textiles are ruthlessly competing with; tho products of Great Britain, it is high time tho matter was considered in, all its bearings. •': Japanese silk products havo for long played an important part in the textilo markets. This is natural enough, since Japan produces vast' quantities of ravv^ silk. With the introduction and per-' f cctioning of artificial silk, it looked as if Japan would loso a. considerable portion of her silk trade. This ,would have been the case but for tho'heavy fall in the price of raw silk. But alongside her real silk trade, Japan has now becomo ono of tho great exporters of artificial silk pieco goods (very largely at the expense of Great Britain), and at prices that European manufacturers cannot possibly compete with, even with a preferential duty in favour of British, goods. Also in the case of cotton goods, we find that Japan is now monopolising much of the trade that formerly went to Lancashire. Japanese calicoes, sheetings, flannelettes, towellings, as well as cotton •Iress goods, both plain and printed, are now bulkiiTg largely in all cotton stocks, whilst thoso in business know that hardly a week goes by_ without some fresh. Japanese production coming to their notice, with a further diversion of trado from. Great Britain. The end. is not in sight by a long way. JAPAN'S PBOGBESS. This state of affairs has been brought nbout by the great progress Japan made dining the war, by tho introduction of the latest machinery, but principally by the extremely low cost of labour in Japan and the fall of tho yen. The yen, nominally worth 2<ti pence, is now quoted only at IS Australian pence or 1-1J English pence. When it is remembered that oven sterling has fallen about 30 per cent, sinco Soptember, 1931, it will more easily be seen how much the yen has depreciated, and what an important part its fall must play on internal costs when those costs are translated into currencies which have not suffered such a great setback, provided: there is a superabundance of labour to work on. That' this ruthless Japanese competition is engaging tho attention of all tho ■Governments of tho Empire is fairly apparent from the guarded replies to questions in the House- of Commons and in our own Parliament. Even in India, •with, its low labour costs, tho position is acute, witness the report of tho Secretary of State for India's speech in London on May 27. It is idle to blame- merchants for buying Japaneso productions • to the exclusion of British. Sentiment, in spite of all that has been said to the contrary, still plays an important part in business,, but beyond a certain point it cannot go. When goods of apparently equal merit vary in price by 20 to'3o per cent., every merchant must buy tho cheaper lino or go out of business. It becomes therefore a matter that our Governments' must face, and they will do so ail the more readily and thoroughly if the public realiso the position and are alive to the dangers. DEMAND FOB CHEAP GOODS. The demand of today is for cheap merchandise. This is more the caso at the present time than ever before, at least as far as this generation of traders is concerned. Hard times demand that every shilling shall be mado to go as far as it possibly can, and certainly Japan is delivering cheap goods. But cheap goods may prove very dear if by their continued purchase permanent harm is done to far and away the best customer Australia has or is over likely to have. Japan buys chiefly our wool and is a valued client in the Wool Exchange. Sho buys it becauso she wants it and cannot get it cheaper elsewhere. But Great Britain buys far moro wool than Japan, and, in addition, takes a host of other products, such as meat, fruit, butter, etc., that no other country will take at all, except in very small quantities. But besides Ijeing f.-ir and away our best, and in some eases our only, customer, this Commonwealth is bound to tho Mother Country by other than commercial tics. Where is our defence apart'from tho Empire? What other country will . stand by us financially? We cannot, wo daro not, stand idly by and do nothing when tho trade of tho Empire's very heart is being taken from her by means of depreciated currencies and tho lowest labour conditions. We have a White Australia policy. Does this only mean that as far as this island-continent is concerned, coloured labour is excluded? Surely such a policy may be rightly charged with serious 1 inconsistency and short-sighted selfishness, if it takes no cognisance of n deadly blow aimed at and reaching tho country that alono has mado such a policy tenable. Especially must this be so when tho blow is delivered as a result of cheap labour rigidly excluded from this country. Aro wo prepared to exclude the labour, but to welcome with open arms the product of such labour, to the detriment of our best friend? This is actually tho question. It is urgent today. It will be more urgent tomorrow. Tho Commonwealth Government undoubtedly knows the facts. Public opinion nijist sco that it acts and acts quickly before greater harm is done.

0. W. Price and Co., 91 Dixou Street, will' sell furniture and stock-in-trade of cake kitchen in the mart tomorrow, commencing at 1.30 p.m.