BUY N.Z. GOODS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4810, 14 July 1939, Page 6

BUY N.Z. GOODS

POSTERS TAKEN DOWN. ACTION IN BRITAIN. IMPORT RESTRICTIONS. "It has been mentioned that there will be a complete boycott of New Zealand goods in this country unless the present trade conditions are improved," states a letter from a large hosiery, knitwear, and underwear manufacturing company in London to its New Zealand agent in Wellington. "We have already taken down the advertisements that we were asked to put up in our factories asking people to buy New Zealand goods. "Our export manager has been in close touch with the Wholesale Textile Association and the London Chamber of Commerce and has alreay attended two conferences with the New Zealand authorities," the letter adds. "You will appreciate, however, that the New Zealand representatives over here know very little, hurt we are hoping that they will forward to their Government the opinion of all British traders."

An idea of the expense of manufacturing goods in New Zealand was given by the New Zealand agent in a statement to the Wellington Evening Post reporter. His company, he said, had a line of girls' hose, which was landed in New Zealand at 43s a dozen after paying 30 per cent, in duty and exchange. The stock was given to a New Zealand manufacturer to copy, but the samples submitted were considered to be "a very rough job," and the price quoted was 70s 6d a dozen and with sales tax the price amounted to 745.

"That manufacturer has been here for over half a century," he said, "and it shows how much the public will have to pay for the import restrictions."