THE BOOT INDUSTRY

Southland Times, Issue 18983, 18 November 1920, Page 5

THE BOOT INDUSTRY

EFFECT OF AUSTRALIAN “DUMPING.” ‘The position in the boot trade is worse to-day than it has been for ten years past,” said the manager of a large local boot factory at Christchurch to a Star erporter. ‘‘Some of the factories,” he added, “are feeding the pinch very badly. We haven’t enough work (.0 keep our clinkers going, and .generally the outlook is very bad. What the New Zealand boot producer is up against principally is the dumping of Australian boots in the Dominion. The [xisition is bad now, but it will be worse later. The Australian producers are protected to the extent of 50 per cent., whereas we have no similar protection. The result is that the Australians can dump their goods here and sell their surplus practically at factory rates. The New Zealand factories cannot, possibly fall into line with them, and the result is that the industry’ is facing a serious crisis. We should have a tariff that would enable us to compete with them and stop dumping at factory prices. The trade throughout New Zealand is in a very’ serious position—-and will be so long as the Australian producer is protected more than the New Zealander. Under the present tariff there is no chance of us selling boots to the Commonwealth.” The local factories, it was stated, were now only building up their stocks. The warehouses were full, and the retailers were also heavily stocked. Thus very little business was being transacted. Discussing the recent cost of living bonus, the manager referred to stated that employers did not, consider it at all fair. It was an attempt to cope with the cost of living problem from the wrong end. One result of it would probably be that factories would have to reduce the number of their hands. Even had there been no increase in wages a reduction of staffs seemed inevitable, but the recent increase in wages w-ould accentuate the position and force employers to reduce staffs where they might otherwise have made an effort to cany on as at present.