Devaluation Will Not Effect Kauri Gum Trade

Northern Advocate, 24 September 1949, Page 7

Devaluation Will Not Effect Kauri Gum Trade

KAITAIA, Sat, (Sp.).—With only a small percentage of New Zealand’s kauri gum production exported to the dollar area, this week’s currency adjustment is not expected to administer any marked impetus to the trade. While gum sales to United States and Canadian markets will return a higher price under the new exchange, the_ proportion immediately affected is so small as to make little difference to the average digger.

This is the view of a prominent gum buyer of many years’ standing in the Far North.

the Far North was also stressed by another resident closely associated with the trade over a number of years. He confirmed that activity on the gumfields had fallen off heavily in re-, cent years owing to other sources of livelihood which appeared more attractive, but considered that present market conditions offered an assured income from kauri gum. One of the main factors against increased digging either by hand or by machine-washing wgs the standard of living conditions on the gumfields. These in the past had been primitive. There was no reason, however, why operators could not establish comfortable homes from which to work washing leases on productive areas. An encouraging feature war the increased demand for kauri gum' on the Australian market for linoleum manufacture, which did not necessarily require the highest quality product, provided good washing standards were observed. Good quality gum was commanding from 115/- to 120/- per cwt, which was in keeping with the best prices of three years ago.

He quoted figures to show thaHonly about one-seventh of the kauri gum output has been sold to dollar markets in the past few years.

The biggest, proportion goes to Great Britain and Europe, and a substantial percentage to Australia. After the recession caused by the glut of an impure quality product resulting from the high wartime prices, the market had stabilised in the past year, he said.

Good quality gum chips were commanding up to 70/- per cwt and nubs or nuts to 35/-. There was a strong demand for light chalk gum, which was also selling up to 85/-. Despite this improvement the postwar years had seen big changes in the industry, and it was estimated that less than 25 per cent of the diggers of three years ago were still engaged on the gumfields. FEWER DIGGERS The number of machine-washing operators had fallen off heavily and this class of work was mainly centred at Waihopo. Whereas three years ago about 12 operators were sluice-washing at Ahipara Hill, this number had been reduced to three. When the industry was at its height 45 years ago ’-here were 15,000 diggers estimated to be working the New Zealand fields, with 1000 gum buyers in the trad* and 50 exporters. Today the total estimate of diggers was about 600. with barely 12 country buyers and only six exporting firms operating. Buyers had been hard hit by the altered exchange rate last year, and losses to individuals had been up to £7OOO. The 1948 export of kauri gum totalled some £IOO,OOO in value, but at the end of that year it was estimated that some 1000 tons, valued at £50.000 remained unsold on the gumfields. All gum washed last summer to improved standards of purity had been absorbed by the market, but some hundreds of tons of the original backlog, failing to meet present-day specifications, remained unsold. Large quantities of kauri gum still remained to be dug from Far North fields, but there was nothing to indicate any possibility of large-scale exploitation under present conditions. The large amount of good quality gum still available for exploitation fn

Devaluation Effect On Import Licences

WELLINGTON, Sat., (Sp.) The effect of the devaluation of the pound on import licences for goods purchased in the United States, or in countries affected by the change in the value of the pound, was explained by the Minister of Customs (Mr Nash) yesterday. He said that when the goods were purchased exchange forward, as was usually the case, the cost in the United States would not be altered. The importer would need, however, to apply for an extension of the licence value to import the goods through customs. The original licence would be required without an additional exchange authority. In cases where the exchange had not been covered by forward purchase the purchaser could apply through the collector of customs. He must submit the original licence, together with the bank certificate, and a statement from his trading bank to the effect that the no forward exchange contract had been entered into for the purchase of the goods.