LOST TO NEW ZEALAND

Nelson Evening Mail, 17 May 1917, Page 2

LOST TO NEW ZEALAND

TRADE WITH THE ISLANDSAn Invercargill business man. Mr Quinn, who ha.s just returned from a trip to Fiji, contributes an interesting account of his experiences to a Southland paper, in the course of which he refers to the enormous trade in general merchandise done with the Islands, practically all of which is lost to New Zealand, "inasmuch as almost a.U the stocks are drawn from Australia. A New Zealand 'commercial' is a rarity in Fiji, and the same holds good in Samoa and other islands of the Southern Pacific whore trade is done, Indeed the one New Zealand line which appears to be the exception is Auckland tinned meat. New Zealand-grown and spun rope is also extensively used, but it is bought through Sydney and Melbourne. This import trade of the Islands concerns all of groceries and general merchandise, timber, especially, being at a premium in Samoa. The 'woYthwhileness' of wholesale firms including the Islands in their travellers circuits is shown by a little circumstance which Mr Quinn relates. By the boat on which he journeyed to Samoa there travelled a wholesale mail. The trip from 'Suva occupied eight days return and the time the traveller had in Apia (Samoa) was only 2j hours'. Yet he made the journey, and was well repaid since for that 2-J,-hours' work the local business man was shown £2SCO worth of orders. This on top of the fact that only a month previously the 'commercial had left Apia after making it his headquarters for a similar period. Furthermore, the same traveller paid a visit to one of the smaller islands where, in the casual observer, it would be impossible to do business. In about 10 minutes he had orders lor ±--VJ worth of goods. The part that hurts is that all that business went to Australia-.'' it