TRADE WITH SWEDEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22832, 17 March 1936, Page 6

TRADE WITH SWEDEN

A REMARKABLE INCREASE TREATY IMPROVES PROSPECTS The information that Sweden’s imports direct from New Zealand had risen from £2O in 1920 to £117,500 in 1934 was given to members of the Council of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce last night by Air G. M. Lindergren, secretary ot the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for Australia and New Zealand, who is at present visiting Dunedin. Mr Lindergren was introduced by the vice-consul for Sweden (Mr J. Sutherland Ross), and was welcomed by the president of the chamber (Mr M. S. Myers). Air Lindergren, in the course of a brief address, stated that it might seem strange that countries so widely separated as Sweden and New Zealand should have such close and friendly trade relatione. Yet it was not so strange when it was realised that the countries were populated by very much the same people with the same ideals and similar institutions. Both peoples were lovers of freedom and equality, and it would be impossible in Sweden, as in Now Zealand, to have a dictator. Sweden’s association with New Zealand went back to the time of Captain Cook, who had with him on a visit to New Zealand Sir Joseph Banks, the grandson of n Swede, and Dr Daniel Carl Solander, a Swedish botanist. Trade between New Zealand and Sweden had advanced considerably, said Mr Lindergren, and a happy augury for the future was the trade agreement between the two countries. The Swedish Chamber of Commerce had been able to assist New Zealand by making strong representations to the Swedish Government for the lowering of the duties on fruit. It had urged that everything possible should be done to encourage the importation of fruit from New Zealand, and he was pleased to be able to say that one of the terms of the treaty had been a reduction in the duty on apples and pears. The Swedish Chamber had also (lone something to advertise New Zealand in Sweden through its journal. Trade between the two countries bad been of comparatively recent growth, but Sweden’s exports to the Dominion had been as high as £329,000 in 1926 and in 1934 had been £243,000. Sweden’s imports from New Zealand were mostly indirect, coming through London and Continental countries, but direct imports had amounted to £117,500 in 1934. The remarkable growth of the trade was shown by the fact that the amount in 1020 was only £2O, rising to £6600 in 1930 and £33,000 in 1933. Sweden was now investigating the origin of goods, and it had been shown that in the last three or four months of 1934 only 10 per cent, of Sweden’s imports from New Zealand came direct. It would, therefore, be necessary to multiply the returns of direct imports several times to obtain the actual value of the goods which Sweden took from the Dominion.