OPTIMISTIC NOTE

Evening Star, Issue 19843, 17 April 1928, Page 3

OPTIMISTIC NOTE

STRUCK BY TRADE ADVOCATES DOMINION'S SPLENDID RECOVERY Optimism' over the trade prospects for New Zealand was the note sounded at last night’s meeting of the council of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, when Mr Julian Foster, the American Trade Commissioner, accompanied by Mr J. W. Collins, of the Department of Industries and Commerce, addressed the council on the trade relations between the dominion and the United States. Mr Foster (Commissioner) explained that he was associated with the Department of Commerce, which was affiliated with the chambers of commerce of the world and had sixty officers throughout the States at the disposal of any members of chambers. His function was to produce trade between America and New Zealand. He would be pleased to help them with export products which did not conflict with goods made in America. Since his arrival in the dominion he had helped to create a new export trade to America of whale and eelskins. He was in the dominion to help them, and ho hoped that ultimately he would be as well known as Mr J. W. Collins. Business men and their friends traveling to America could obtain letters of introduction from him to his department. Ho had travelled from the Bay of Islands to Invercargill, said Mr Foster, and the whole country seemed to be in a sound financial and prosperous condition. Both the North and South Islands were apparently in for a very prosperous season, and that would be reflected in increased exports from the dominion. He was at the disposal of business men to give them information about their imports and to help their exports.

J. join, too, in the optimistic note Mr Foster has struck,” said Mr Collins. “My optimism is not merely based on visiting various parts of the dominion, but on the very excellent figures published in the newspapers last week regarding our trade, and on the latest departmental information. It must be pleasing to you to know that for the year ended March the trade amounted to a total of £100,000,000, but it is more pleasing to realise that during that short period of twelve months we have been able to announce a favourable h a l ance °f £10,500,000, and that our total exports have reached, taking normal years into consideration, the phenomenal output of £55,000,000. The last three, mouths of the year—January, February, and March—easily created record tor our exports. For those three months, I believe, the figures equal more than half a year’s export trade of the previous year. The season Has been a very good one both in the North and South Islands, although we suffered generally in New Zealand from drought conditions from the end of October till the middle of March. There has been excellent rain since. I have never seen the pastures looking better, and the farming community is approaching the new year with the greatest faith. I. join in congratulating ourselves upon New Zealand’s splendid trade achievement of 1927-28.” The Chairman (Mr J- Taylor) said business men would be only too pleased to avail themselves of Mr Foster’s services. He remarked that whereas in 1926-27 trade was £2,500,000 to tiie bad, the country was now £10,500,000 to the good, meaning that New Zealand had recovered to the extent of £13,000,000 in a season, which was a wonderful record.