NEW ZEALAND PRODUCTS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2356, 20 April 1899, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCTS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

Mr Allsop, secretary to the Timaru Chamber of Commerce, has handed to tho Herald a circular letter which he has received for the chamber from Messrs Ritchey and Pollock, of Sydney, regarding the possibilities of increased trade between New Zealand and New South Wales, and some of the statistics supplied are extremely suggestive. The members of the firm state that they have spent 20 and 15 years respectively in New Zealand, and " Theo. H. Ritchey " is a name not unfamiliar in Timaru. The writers wish to bring under the notice of the Chambers of Commerce in New Zealand their proposal to establish a central depot for the exhibition of New Zealand products and manufactures in Sydney, with a view to advertising and increasing the trade of this colony. The statistics they append to their letter show that New Zealand could fiud a much wider market in New South Wales than is done at present, but they tay, and very reasonably, that New Zealand must take the initiative in obtaining the extension. Numerous reasons, climatic and other, are given in support of the assertion that New South Wales must, at all events very often, rely upon other places for much of her necessary supplies, especially in the way of farm products and manufactures therefrom, and New Zealand is pre-eminently the place fiom which such supplies should be obtained. Af old New Zealanders, imbued with this belief, they propose to establish a " commercial museum and depot for sannlei of New Zea-

land products and manufactures only," open to the general public as well as to the trade, aud in connection therewith to_ undertake a general agency, dealing exclusively in New Zealand products on business-like and energetic lines. The following statistics " collected from recent and reliable Government sources," speak for themselves, and show that while New Zealand finds a market for small quantities of many lines of her produce in New .South Wales, there_ is room for a large expansion of the trade in such lines. The following figures refer to the total imports for 1897, and the proportion contributed by New Zealand :

A few other items which we omit make up a total of imports of commodities (now all produced in New Zealand) valued at three and a-hrJf millions, of which a small fraction, over one-tenth, was obtained from New Zealand. Messrs Ritchey and Pollock seem to think that New Zealand ought to be able to compete, especially with the United States and Canada, and a table is given showing the proportionate quantities and values from those countries and New Zealand, of 21 commodities which are produced on a commercial scale in this colony. These items totalled £903,905 from America, and £192,801 from New Zealand. The principal items are flour, £385,687 from America, £80,897 from New Zealand : wheat. £165,862 and £6273; timber, £117,133 and £77,4-78. The timber imported from America was probably of different nature from New Zealand woods, and our sawmillers are not far behind the American. Our agriculturalists were a long way in the rear in their share of the wheat and flour imports. Even in such a thing as common soap, the Americans supplied £2820 worth, to New Zealand's £212 worth. In 1894 New South Wales imported from America £542,427 worth; in 1897 the value was £1,887,877, an increase in four years of £1,3*5,450. In the same years the total imports from New Zealand were £484.450 and £629,425, an increase of only £144,943. These figures show that New Zealand's share of the duty of supplying the needs of New South Wales, grew very little, whilst America's share went up by leaps and bounds.

lotal From Imports. N.Z. Flour £624,203 JE50,897 Woollens .. „ .. 626,508 5,723 Timber , .. 394,320 77,478 Bay and chaff .. .. 213.466 7,158 Potatoes 101,168 10,886 Wheat 190,483 6,273 Fish, dried and preserved .. 126,407 1,032 Butter .. .. „, 120,885 51,657 Barley and malt .. .. 118.19S 33.561 Tallow 108,393 15,663 Leather .. .. .. 75,143 4,747 Milk, tinned 63.4C9 791 Cordage 51,213 3,314 Pickles and sauces .. .. 47,469 52 Agricultural implements (excepting ploughs, reapers, and binders) .. .. 34,696 121 Ploughs . , .. .. 31,738 137 Preserved meat .. .. 30,183 1,960 Brush ware and brooms .. 29,359 6 Datmeal 22,471 7,076 lams and jellies .. .. 21.752 12 Rugs 18,332 1,045 Dried fruit 14.107 6 Farinaceous and milk foods 13,651 123 Eggs 13,227 8 Bonedust .. '..' .. 11,776 170 Straw „ 11,606 2,033 Sheeptrash .. •• 8,135 411 Saixsage skins .. .. .. 8,265 161 Biscuits .. •• 5,176 nil Dysters .. .. 3,103 610 loney .. .. 1,356 26