EXPORT TRADE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26617, 13 November 1947, Page 8

EXPORT TRADE

REVIVAL FRUSTRATED IRKSOME RESTRICTIONS An instance of how irksome Government restrictions are preventing the revival of export trade lost by New Zealand during the war was given to the Daily Times yesterday by Mr W. Stevenson, managing director of Irvine and Stevenson’s .St. George Company, Ltd. “Every now and again we see emphasised the necessity to revive trade, particularly our export trade,” said Mr Stevenson. “We have been stopped from selling our canned products in many countries because these countries are * not on the list,’ and among these countries * not on the list’ ig New Guinea, where we had a large trade before the war.” This, however, was not the end of the difficulties, Mr Stevenson continued. Discussing trade with countries which were “ on the list,” he explained that the probability of shipping being available had first to be ascertained. His company could then take orders if the prospective buyers could get permits to import. It was then required to make application to the export division of the Marketing Department for permits to export from New Zealand, and, if the applications were approved, it was referred to the Customs Department, which granted the permits. If the permits were granted the company could export if it complied with further conditions.

“Now a new provision*is to be enforced,’’ said Mr Stevenson. “It appears that the Marketing Department buys meats in New Zealand and sells them at a profit in other places. Before we can export our manufactured and canned meats we must give a list of the goods and contents to • the Marketing Department, which will then state how much it will levy on our goods—just in case the department might have handled the goods if we had not bought and handled them. There is, apparently, no thought bv the department of disgorging to us the profits on meats handled by it in case we might have handled them if the department was not in the business."

Before the war. Mr Stevenson said, orders from overseas simply came to his company and were filled immediately. To-day, hundreds of orders received from overseas markets had no possible, chance of being filled. The present irksome and cumbersome procedure would not only fail to revive a lost trade, but would cripple any'vestige of export trade which existed at present.