DUTCH EAST INDIES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 107, 2 November 1939, Page 14

DUTCH EAST INDIES

A WARTIME MAREE*

ADVANCES TO AUSTRALIA

(From "The Post's" Representative.)"

SYDNEY, October 19.

Business interests in the Netherlands East Indies are inundating the Commonwealth Government with' inquiries as to the possibilities of-' developing trade, in a wide range of commodities, with Australia. The demand by these interests for Australian goods is greater today because they are experiencing difficulty in obtaining goods from European countries.

The Australian Government Commission in Netherlands Indies (Mr. H. A. Peterson) recently, submitted to tlie Commerce Department in Canberra more than 100 requests from Netherlands merchants who wanted to trade with Australia. While' the Department believes it is possible to expand Australian trade in several directions, the main difficulty is that under wartime conditions many of the commodities required by the Netherlands indies must be conserved for Australia.

One of eight business men who have been in Sydney placing .orders estimated- that the Netherlands . Indies might buy. an extra £5.000.000 worth of goods from Australia next year. He said he was here to buy "anything you wear, anything you use." An immediate purchase of £100.000 worth of iron was being sought. If necessary, Dutch ships, would be sent to lift it.

The spokesman said Australian business men were not "export-minded." They were too satisfied with their local markets, and disinclined to make a small alteration to gain big oversea orders. Most of the visitors were moi*e concerned about permanent trade ; than about goods here because of increased prices in Europe, but even the'_ temporary war trade would probably reach millions a year. Australia should realise that duties in the Indies on her goods were exactly the same as en goods from Holland.

Australian exports to the Netherlands Indies dropped from £1,467,765 in 1937----38 to £1,379,600 in 1938-39. The principal exports are butter, flour, metais, leather, machinery., bacon and hams, and medicine and rugs. Imports from the Netherlands Indies increased from £3,960,000 in 1933-34 to £7,530,50.0 in 1937-38, falling to £7,001,922 in 1938----39. Oil and tea represented the greater proportion of that import figure.