EXPORTS VITAL NOW

Evening Star, Issue 23511, 27 February 1940, Page 9

EXPORTS VITAL NOW

TRADE AFTER WAR ENSURING CONTINUITY OF SUPPLIES Mr Percy Lister, chairman of R. A. Lister and Co. Ltd., engineers, speaking at the annual meeting held at Dursley, Gloucestershire, said: “In these days it is difficult to forecast with any measure of certainty what the future will hold. Nevertheless, 1 am pleased to say that your factories are not only meeting an ever-increasing pressure of demand for their products for the Services, but are making what I trust will be an ever-increasing contribution to the Exchequer and the nation’s currency requirements by keeping their export trade going. “ I am happy to tell you that, as compared with the record order book ruling a year ago. our order book today is over four times greater and 50 per cent, of the orders on hand are for the export trade, recompense and evidence of the enormous effort and expenditure we have incurred to build up our export trade and connection during the years of peace. “ Much emphasis has been made, hut too much cannot be made, regarding the importance of this country maintaining its export trade and as far ns feasible exploiting the favourable situation created by the absence of the enemy as an export competitor. It is to be hoped in the near future that both the current exjxirt problems as well as the equally vital post-war export trade problems will become the special care of a member of the War Cabinet, empowered, not only to coordinate the activities of those Ministries _ concerned _ with those matters, but, in co-operation with tile exporting industries, take such steps as will ensure continuity of supplies consistent with the essential requirements of the Services during the war and assure the nation of that essential export volume that will contribute so largely to the solution of our post-war difficulties."