BRITISH IMPORTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23393, 7 January 1938, Page 10

BRITISH IMPORTS

FIELDS FOR EXPANSION COMMISSIONER’S ADVICE (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, Dec. 18. A review of New Zealand’s import requirements and advice to United Kingdom manufacturers as to the directions in which more attention is required are given in the report of Mr R. Boulter, British Trade Commissioner in New Zealand, and Mr T. G. A. Muntz, assistant commissioner, just published by the Department of Overseas Trade. “If there is any particular direction in which it is desirable that United Kingdom manufacturers should turn their especial efforts, it would appear to be that of supplying industrial machinery for use in factories, mines, etc.,” states the report. “It is doubtful whether the openings presented by these undertakings have been as assiduously or as successfully cultivated as have the markets for such standardised articles as textiles, apparel, metal manufactures, china, and glass. Whatever may be its immediate dif-. Acuities, manufacturing industry will develop and expand in this Dominion as in others and will in the future as in the past provide valuable orders. “In agricultural machinery competition from the United States, as well as from Canada and Australia, is keen and successful, and though, as for instance in harvesting machinery, the requirements of New Zealand are different from those of the United Kingdom, it is felt that a larger share of the trade might be obtained in competition with makers in New Zealand as well as overseas. Considerable orders for certain kinds of heavy civil engineering machinery have been placed in the United States in the absence of any manufacture of suitable plant in the United Kingdom. DOMESTIC APPLIANCES “ The difficulty of securing domestic servants creates a regular demand for electric appliances to lighten the task of the housewife. Sweden sends far more vacuum cleaners to New Zealand than the United Kingdom, and Canada has built up a successful trade in washing. wringing and ironing machines. Refrigerators from the United States are very prominent and refrigeration orders have gone to foreign countries that could have been executed in the United Kingdom. It is anticipated that air conditioning will be more generally adopted in course of time. The extension of internal air services opens up a field for a variety of ground equipment apart from the need for aeroplanes. “The above considerations make it all the more important to bear in mind certain factors affecting United Kingdom exports to Great Britain,” the report adds. Although New Zealand claimed with justice to be the most “British” of the dominions, it must be remembered that her industries had developed along lines differing in many ways from those of Britain. NEED TO STUDY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS In many cases the practice of the United States or Australia was followed. It was often necessary to introduce some departure from the designs in current use In the United Kingdom. Unless adequate steps to do this were taken' the loss of trade to other countries would be larger in the near future, when considerable expenditure on capital account was likely to follow on trade expansion and the adoption of a higher degree of mechanisation to offset shorter hours and higher wages. It was also important to give British products the publicity they deserved. Factory or mine managers usually found themselves in possession of ample supplies of foreign catalogues, particularly from the United States, and equal facilities should be accorded by manufacturers from Great Britain. An agent who was endeavouring to place a new contrivance was very severely handicapped if there was any lack of leaflets for distribution. New Zealand manufacturers placed great importance on adequate working instructions and blue prints to guide them in the use of new machinery and on the presence of servicing engineers in the Dominion. It was also important to send out travelling factory representatives. Competing manufacturers in other countries send trained men who had experience in both the construction and operation of the articles they were trying to sell, and British makers should do likewise.