TRADE WITH THE EAST

Hokitika Guardian, 23 August 1929, Page 8

TRADE WITH THE EAST

PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT WELLINGTON, Aug. 21. Mr A. J. Pronk, Of Sydney, general manager foi* Australia and New Zealand of the Royal Packet Navigation Company, and Mr J. W. B. Evarts director, who is on the ’ way to Holland, arrived by the Ulimaroa yesterdayl. , Mr Pronk, in an interview, • said that they had come to see lor themselves just how things were with respect to the prospects of direct trade with the East, in which the company was primarily and extensively concerned. While in Wellington they would discuss the questions involved with the Prime Minister. They would not have time to visit the South Island, but would go on to Napier, thence overland to Auckland.

New Zealand was tremendously handicapped by having no direct service. The heavy charges involved in first shipping goods to Australia and then transhipping there tended practically to kill the Dominion’s chances of getting a footing in the export trade with the East. Given a direct service there were, excellent prospects of developing trade in dairy produce, while the Dutch East Indies bad tea, sugar, kapoc fibres, coffee, cocoa, and other commodities to offer. There was a great and growing demand for butter, both tinned and frozen. Singapore was well provided with cold storage, and there were cold stores at Batavia and Samarang, and one was being built at Sourabaya. In regard to the East generally Mr Pronk intimated that cold storage plants were developing, but no great trade in perishable foodstuffs was possiole until this side of the business had been properly developed. Very large quantities of meat were now being consumed in the Philippines and in years to come this would .tend more and more to be the case in other parts of the East. There was a great future for passenger and tourist traffic.