TRADE COMPETITION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27059, 19 April 1949, Page 4

TRADE COMPETITION

NEW ERA PREDICTED CONCERTED DRIVE FOR MARKETS Daily Times Special Service AUCKLAND, Apl. 18. Signs that an unparalleled era of trade competition was developing were clearly to be seen in the world to-day, said Mr Frank Goldberg, governing director of Goldberg Advertising, Ltd., who arrived by the Monowai. He recently returned to Australia from a six months’ tour of Britain, the Continent, and South Africa. The Western Powers .had been cut off from trade with many parts of Eastern Europe, said Mr Goldberg. In addition, tremendous nationalistic forces had emerged in India and elsewhere, and chaotic and unknown forces had been released in' China, Malaya, and Burma. Trading difficulties between the dollar and sterling blocs remained, and now Germany was returning as a trading nation and under-cutting Britain in some important items. These were factors whiejj.-'’ forced the Western Powers to fight To hold and extend, their markets. . Gradually dnd inevitably trade would grow more competitive, and the whole technique of salesmanship of goods to the public was likely to undergo changes in the next year or so. Not only would it become harder to sell inferior or badly-finished goods, but articles which were good would have to be sold in the face of competing lines, which, although of lesser merit, were backed by superior salesmanship. Mr Goldberg expressed the view that a remorseless drive for markets would bring more intense competition to New Zealand. This country’s import licensing system and Australia's high protective Customs tariff were ' obstacles to any great improvement in reciprocal trade between the two countries, but urgent world trends would , eventually force greater unity, perhaps along the lines of a Customs union.