TRADE WITH TONGA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16927, 13 August 1918, Page 6

TRADE WITH TONGA.

HEAVi' LOSS OF CbPRA.

' BENEFIT TO AMERICA. " % [BT TELEGRAPH.—",™ COBRESrONDErr.J ■ ' . . ' \V£iLLIN6TON, Monday. Considerable discussion has arisen concerning the statement that most ; of the Tongan trade has been diverted to Sydney and America. .An Auckland merchant interested in the Island trade stated this morning that ,13 or 14 years ago he had seen as much as' 16,000 cases of oranges alone landed in Auckland in four weeks. The plantations in tho Friendly Group , that enabled this to be done had now fallen into disuse, or had been turned to other I purposes. Bananas had also been shut out because they no longer came direct from tho Friendly Group, the route taken including a cdll at Suva on the way back to ship fruit there, Copra was now being.shipped to America, because, steamers would, not carry it, and sailing vessels were being chartered to carry it to America. ' /

The National Gazette had the following recently under the .heading of " Trade With' 'longa " :—" Through the anedium of sailing ships, San Francisco is establishing an increasing and valuable market in Tonga, In some quarters the refusal, soma months ago, of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand to handle Torigan copra .is considered to -have diverted trade' from New Zealand to San ,Francisco. .Shortly after the Union Company's .' decision became know, at least a dozen sailing vessels left Tongan ports with full cargoes of copra for the Pacific Slope. The largest carried about 1600 tons, and the smallest 237, By the beginning of February approximately 7000 tons of copra had been sent to the United ' State®, most of which was consigned to San Francisco, Thus the 7000 tons represented £17,500, paid American shipowners for transportation, while the value of the copra was about £140,000. But for. the Union Steam Ship Company's attitude, which is probably dictated by war conditions, New Zealand would have handled a considerable 'amount of the business indicated." \

The article refers to the'fact that many established lines of American goods, such as canned salmon, Oregon pine, and dried fruits,■ which had hitherto been procured from Auckland firms, are now imported from San Francisco and other American Pacific centres.