TRADE ADVICE

Grey River Argus, 18 April 1929, Page 6

TRADE ADVICE

FOR AUSTRALIANS. From Canadian Traders. (Australian & N.Z. Cable Assn.) VANCNOUVER, April 10 Canadians are eager to buy Australian goods of qua-ny, ami to give them preference ,a*s a imuter of Empi.;-' sentiment. Vancouver importers and merchants are ready ami willing to go as far as they can in encouraging the market for Australian goods, but —and the but made very plain,—Australian, manufacturers and producers ami shippers must realise that it is up to themselv to sell their goods on the Canadian market. They must learn th c needs amd requirements as to quality and package, Canadian methods of trade, and above all, th ’y must at least assist ‘n the advertising here of their own wares. All his was stated on th c Canadian side of an informal CiOnferenee between the Australian d degates to the Educational Conference and leading mernbeis of the Vancouver Board of Trade. On their side, the Australian held that th') necessity for better acquaintance with the Canadian market was already being recognised. They instanced the appointment of an Australian Trade Commissioner, but were remind'd that the Commissioner cannot possibly do "work that should ho done by direct contract by firms seeking a market here.

“Any day in any week there are forty American travellers in Vancouver, industriously showing goods Commissioner orders, and no Trade Comlmissioner could get in five years the information that the representtatives pf American houses have at their finger-tips.” said Mr H. R. MacMillan, a leading timber exporter. Ho urgi *d that the heads of thc AustflaiHan houses should come to Canada to look over the field and learn the needs and idiosyncrasies of the buying public,, deli trmine for themselves thc opportunities offered ami then act on the first-hand information obtained. There should b' an intensive educational campaign, telling Canada of the Australian goods available. Mr MacMillan also said that the United States studied the Canadian mark.lt conditions and gave them what they wanted. The Canadians refold. United States advertisements. The consumer in any country rarely chose what he wished. He bought what was put before him. “I suggest that the Australians ’ should study our market conditions,” he added. President W. C. Woodward of the Vancouver Board of Trad 1 , ana other prominent business men, spoke at the conference. Mr J. W. Fordham Johnston said it was likely that he could boost Australian exports to Canada by several millions if given an opportunity. He said that he was anxipus to purchase Australian raw sugar, but in recent years ho had not been offered any. He intimated that he might b|'_ able to pay a higher price for raw material than obtained cn the English market. Mr S. P. D. Malkin said there was a big market for Australian fruits, the quality of which was unexcelled anywhcn‘l, if the Australians would understand the marketing problem from the Canadians’ viewpointMr S. Baymer and others suggest 'd to Mr F. E. Hose (secretary of the Liquor Control Board) that if the British Columbian Government was prepared to make less profit on Australian than French wines, th* Australian product would soon become popular in British Columbia. Admitting that the trade balance rested with Canada, the speakers declared that it was not altogether th" f.Jult of the Canadians. Mr Woodward said, that the psychology of Canadians was to spend their money within the Empire.

The discussion centred for a time on the market for Australian wines. A suggestion from a.n Australian delegate that price preference over other imported wines might readily result in Australia granting preference to Canadian tiinber and other products was assented to by all thc 'delegates. Mr D. 11. Ross, Canadian Trade Commissioner in Australia, suggested that the British Columbia and other Canadian Liquor Control Boards might well lessen their profit on Australian wines This might encourage the Australian authorities to giv f » further preference to Canadian timber. The Australian delegates said they a,greed that thpi proper way to develop the Canadian maket was to s'end men to study he situaion. They proposed to see thc Primo Minister (Mr Bruce) and the Premiers of the States on their return.

THE EMPIRE’S ASIATICS THE EXCLUSION POLICY. VANCOUVEVR, April 10. Speaking primarily as an educationalist, b*rv almost with equal stress as an Australian, Sir Archibald Strong membl Vs of the Board of Tlade to-day. Referring to th 0 morning Trade Conference as the first occasion on which Australians and Canadians had met to discuss trade and commerce, he said that this sugg 1 -sted a principle which might well be extended with great advantage to the whole Empire and carried even beyond the matters of commerce. “If we are going to keep thc great and gUorious British Empire what it is, we should know as much as possible of one another and keep steady contact.” He instanced th 0 Asiatic exclusion policy in Australia as a misunderstanding within thM Empire. “Australia excludes Asiatics not because they are hated or despised, but to present

tragedies common in countries where there aril a great number of whites and colour! Al peoples. I wish we c/ould do something to dispel the ghastly lies told in some parts of the Empire about other parts. All Empire univ: rsities should remain true to the "/British (Meal oJ freedom of opinion. ” Reverend C. F. Andrews, an associate of Sir Rabindranath Tagore, wanted Canada and India to exchange Agents-GeneraJ!, and to so* that Panjabi z-esidcntsl Un Canada have a franchise as in Australia and New tol .f?jstcr ( blotter Empire feeling.