UNIFORM PRICES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22833, 18 March 1936, Page 10

UNIFORM PRICES

BRITISH TENDERS FOR WIRE ROPE GERMAN QUOTATION THE LOWEST (Per United Press Association) AUCKLAND, March 17. A proposal to purchase wire rope from Germany resulted in considerable discussion at a meeting of the Auckland Harbour Board to-day, when tenders from various firms came under consideration. It was pointed out that for the quantity of wire rope required by the board a tender of £428 was submitted by an Auckland firm for wire rope manufactured by a German firm, while the price quoted in the tender received from 11 British firms was £517 in each instance. After several members had spoken against any policy of buying German wire in preference to British. Mr J. B. Donald said he certainly favoured the purchase of British goods by the board, but there was another aspect to be considered. It was quite apparent from the fact that all the firms selling British wire submitted the one price that there was a pool in existence. When these monopolies were formed by British concerns and prices were submitted that could by no means compete with foreign prices, then the British manufacturer was not deserving of the board’s business.

Mr T. Bloodworth, M.L.C., said that while it was most desirable to purchase British goods in preference to others the board must consider the fact that the British tenders were considerably higher than the lowest submitted. He favoured a suggestion that the matter should be deferred so that the board members might have an opportunity of learning more about the German wire and conditions under which it was manufactured. It was decided to defer consideration of the tenders until the next meeting of the board in committee.