TRADE WITH INDIA AND THE EAST.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1217, 28 June 1895, Page 8

TRADE WITH INDIA AND THE EAST.

The Commission appointed by the Victorian Government last year to visit the leading ports in India and the East, with the view to extension of trade in Victorian products, has issued its report, and it is a very interesting 1 document. It is published in pamphlet form, and comprises with appendices 50 pages. The Commission, which consisted of Messrs Kelly and Kowe, left Melbourne on the 13th January, 1894, taking- with them 121 packages of samples, consisting of •wines, ales, brandy, quinine wine, preserved meats and rabbits, hams, minced meat, concentrated milk, butter, cheese, jams and marmalade, preserved fruits, tomato sauces, biscuits, flour, compressed forages, tallow, extracts and oils <yf eucalyptus, frankoline, red fi'uni syrup, seeds, sole leather and soap. The Commission visited "as directed ,by the Government, Colombo, Madras' Calcutta, Rangoon, Penang, ;Singapore, Batavia, Sourabaya, Hongkong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Kobe and Yokohama for the purpose of securing, if possible, increased exports of the products of Victoria." Before reaching Java, Shanghai and Japan " there were very few samples left:" The result of their visit certainly led to " business," as the following extract will show, being the exports of Victorian products to the countries visited by the Commission during 1893, and the first 10 months of 1894 :

The samples are all reported on separately. We extru'-et- the following :

"No Victorian product attracted more attention than butter. \ Danish, French and Italian principally-tf-re imported into •Ceylon, India, the Straits Settlements, Java and Hongkong. Inter Shanghai and Japan, French, Italian, American and Canadian are imported, but the American has the largest sale. The best Victorian butters are undoubtedly superior to those •with which Eastern countries are at present supplied. Butter should be exported principally in lib tins, attractive in appearance and without paper labels. The brands and names of manufacturers should be printed on the tins. Every possible care should be exercised in tinning and packing. The tins in which the French butter is exported are those most generally approved of. A .sound and attractive tin is an absolute necessity in order to secure a ready sale. In Yokohama we were imformed that, for the purpose of trade with the Japanese, it would be advisable that butter should be graded, arid that a good business could be done with cheap cooking butter in lib and lib tins, packed 100 in a case. Margarine is imported and sold at 40 cents (lOd) per lb, and it is for the purpose of competing ■with this that a cheap cooking butter is required. If strict attention is paid to quality, tinning and packing, Victorian butter will, at the prices furnished to us, obtain a firmer footing in Eastern countries. CHEESE. " The principal supplies for Ceylon and India are obtaiued from the United Kingdom. Those for Burmah and the Straits Settlements come from the United Kingdom, Holland, France and Germany. In Shanghai and Japan the United States and Canadian cheeses are the most used, and for Java the Dutch, import from Holland principally. The Victorian Cheddars were highly approved of. The question of size and packing is one which requires careful attention. The requirements in this respect differ. The samples of cheese we had with us kept in excellent condition, and this was particularly noted by merchants. They were packed in husks in tins. HAMS AND BACON. " The imports into Ceylon and India are almost wholly from the United Kingdom. The Straits Settlements are supplied by the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. Hongkong, Shanghai and Japan obtain supplies from the United Kingdom and the United States. The samples of Victorian hams were much appreciated, and should find a ready market in the various places. The demand for those of good quality and reasonable price is large.

POTATOES. " Largo quantities are imported into Ceylon from India, but they are very inferior. The imports in 1893 amounted to 1895 tons, of which only VOcwt were from Australia. Some were imported at <£o per ton c.i.f. from Glaagow, freight being .41 per ton. Throughout the East the quality of potatoes is very poor. The question of the best mode of packing for shipment is ot course important. It was suggested that casing should be tried. meat (frozen). , "At our first port of call Colombo, we specially enquired into the subject of the of frozen meat to the troops and to thcT European population, both resident •and floating, and to the Gurasians. lhe Maior-aeneral is anxious to secure refrigerated beef and mutton for the troops. His Excellency the Governor also expressed his desire that frozen meat

I should be supplied to Ceylon, and j said the Government would be prepared to give all possible facilities for its introduction and carriage inland. The European residents with whom we conversed were in favour of its introduction. The value of live stock for food imported into Ceylon during 1892 was .£64,420, and during 1893 .£53,283. All were imported from India. The beef and mutton are very inferior, and though sold at from 2£d to 3M per lb, there is little doubt that the frozen article would supplant the local supply. Cattle and sheep are imported into Singapore and Penang, principally from Siam, India, Buli and Australia. In 1893 33,020 cattle and 18,678 sheep were imported, of which Australia supplied 1549 of the former and 2240 of the latter. Swine to the number of 578,577 were also imported during the same year. "Batavia is supplied with live cattle from Port Darwin. We believe the South Australian "Government has granted a subsidy of ,£SOOO a year for three years to aid this business. The beef, however, is not considered satisfactory in Batavia, and it is dear, lOd and Is per Dutch lb (l&lb English). We were informed by leading residents that frozen beef would certainly pay, and that the consumption of it would be large both in Batavia and Samarang. The acting-British Consul at Batavia informed us that the Chinese eat buffalo beef, which sells at 6d to 8d per Dutch lb, and that he believed they would readily take to the frozen article, both beef and pork, if the price] were satisfactory. The present selling price of fresh pork in Batavia is from lOd to Is per Dutch lb." CONCLUSION. The report concludes with the recommendation of "retaining the position which has been secured." It also recommends the establishment of depots with cool storage in such ports as Colombo, Bombay, Singapore, Batavia and Hongkong. Further, it points out that the trade is a large one and is now in certain channels and is keenly competed for by both European and American nations. Of the above, the N.Z. Times says: — The report of the Victorian Commission to India-and the East has fully confirmed Sir Julius Vogel's opinions as to the practicability of a large trade being developed with those countries in the food products of New Zealand. When in office he publicly announced that a commission should be appointed by New Zealand to visit those countries, but was only ridiculed —in his own words, " laughed at for his pains." But facts are stubborn things. Here are some of the figures as to the populations of the countries visitedby the commission:—lndia, 287,223,431; Ceylon, 3,009,442; Straits Settlements, 930,969; Java, 24,309,000: Hongkong, 221,441; Shanghai, 404,205; Japan, 40,718,677. Irrespective of the settled population, there is a large floating population in the immense shipping tonnage in those waters, which is mostly European, as tho following extracts from the report will show: tonnage and crews of vessels for the year 1893 arriving at Colombo were 1901 number, 2,514,595 tonnage, 118,712 crews, exclusive of vessels calling to coal, which amounted to 348, tons 619,979. The number of passengers who called at Colombo during the years 1889 to 1893 amounted to 171,930, an average of 34,356 annually." " During 1893, 4435 vessels of 3,425,283 tons entered Singapore, exclusive of native craft. In the same year 4371 vessels of 5,266,349 tons (British and foreign), exclusive of Chinese junks, arrived at Hongkong, carrying between them between 200,000 and 300,000 passengers. It is a free port, and there is no official return of imports and exports compiled. The ascertained amount of cargo carried during the ye;.r by vessels entered and cleared was : Discharged, 3,343,602 ; shipped, 2,472,549; in transit, 1,335,264 tons." During the same period some thousands of vessels entered Java, Bombay and other Indian ports. The mere provisioning of this enormous mass of shipping is in itself a largo business. The report recommends the establishment of depots with cool storage at Colombo, Bombay, Batavia, Hongkong, &c, and states that offers were made by local merchants to erect cool storage at some of those places provided regular supplies could be relied upon. The report proves that New- Zealand should now follow Sir Julius Vogel's advice, and the example of Victoria in appointing a Commission to visit those countries, not to collect information, but with a view to establishing a steam service of its own fitted up with all the recent improvements for carrying fresh meat, butter, cheese, potatoes, apples, ales, &c, &c. If once started on a sound footing, the trade would inevitably grow, But as it would consist almost exclusively of perishable food products, great care would have to be taken, as the heat in those countries is generally greater than we in New Zealand have any conception of. The proper opening up of those markets would impart fresh hope to the farming community in this Colony. Tho service from the start should be a New Zealand one. Our products should go on those markets from the outset as " New Zealand," and not be mixed with Australian, to which they are generally superior. There should be no " entangling alliances " with the other colonies in this matter. The distance is only about half that of London. If a subsidy is granted it would not need , to be a large one, and would be more than recouped to the Colony by tho trade benefits to be derived if the matter were properly gone about. We make no doubt that several well - established steamship companies would be willing to initiate a suitable service on clearlydefined lines. The whole matter requires careful and thorough investigation, the cost of which would be a trifle compared to the benefits that could be obtained by the Colony. The Victorian Commission has lifted the veil off the East, disclosing vast possibilities of trade. Our great want is of increased markets of

consumption. The opportunity should not be missed.

10 months Year ended Oct., InArticle. 1893. 1894. crease. Wool, scoured... 81,7671b ; 334,3571b 252,5901b Butter ... 22,0301b 80,0311b 58,0041b Soap, common ... 19,7121b 62,6041b 43,8921b Biscuits 77,4011b 97,4751b 20,0141b Fruit, canned ... 2,3841b; 16,4281b 14,0441b ; Bacon 3,2301b 16,8581b 13,6281b Jams and Jellies 3,1041b 16,6421b 13,5381b Mams 2,8G01b 9,9451b 7,0851b <Bee£, salted 5.0001b 10,9001b 5,9001b ♦Oheese ... 1,4031b «,9351b 5,5321b Meats, preserved 6,2161b 8,7301b 2,5141b JLard 2,60llb 2,9601b 3601b Tallow ... 18 tons 28 tons 10 tons Wine, bottled ... l,253gls l,561gls 308gls Witfe, wood 2,036gls 2,603gls i 567gls Wine, sparkling . — 40gls 40gla Beer, /^ager 64gls 318gls 254gls Brandy ... -• 304gls 341gls 37gls Milk, coccontrated... — 1941b 1941b Sauces ... — 55 dz qts 55 dz qts Fruits, fresh ..- 130 bids 617bhls 487 bhls Eucalyptus oil 17 pkgs 24 pkgs 7 pkgs