TIMBER TRADE

Southland Times, Issue 19899, 18 June 1926, Page 7

TIMBER TRADE

FOREIGN COMPETITION COMPLAINTS FROM SAWMILLERS SUGGESTED INCREASE IN TARIFF (Special to the Times.) Wellington, June 17. Continuous complaints from sawmillers, particularly in the South Island, during the last few weeks have represented the Dominion’s timber industry to be in such a state that competition with imported American timber is impossible under the present tariff. Representations were recently made to the committee of the Canterbury 7 members of Parliament and this week Mr. D. Reese, who stated the case of the sawmillers, has made a further pronouncement. To-day the Forestry Department announced that it was in favour of the increased tariff. It was stated that as far as the increased importations were concerned the primary reasons for these were the greatly increased consumption of timber in the Dominion. ( The consumption per capita during the past two years has been probably at its highest since the pre-war period and naturally imported timbers have shared the benefit with Dominion timbers. This is shown by the Government Statistician’s figures for the period. Local timbers marketed for the year ended March 31 are revealed to have been approximately 346,000,000 feet, which is the highest production since 1908. Over quite a period of years it has been found that every time the Dominion’s imports have increased the local production has been fluctuating in the same manner. As far as the present situation is concerned the New Zealand miller naturally is feeling the effect of these increased imports since fluctuations in the market are more quickly felt in native timbers and by native suppliers than by importers. Forward orders by inqiorters arc at hand and even with a falling off in the consumption which commenced about December last forward orders are still coming into the country. Shortly, therefore, there should be a falling off in the imports and this should make the position slightly better for millers while increased consumption is one of the chief factors affecting importation. There can be little doubt that the falling prices of imported timber and its inherent qualities have contributed to the present situation. Imported softwoods are helped in their competition with native timbers by the fact that they are cut from dense stands of timber such as are seldom seen in New Zealand and further existence of huge aggregations of capital such as the Dominion does not possess. For instance there are a number of mills in the Pacific coast of the United States any one of which is capable of producing as much as 40 mills in New Zealand, and the overhead cost of production is so low as to be impossible to equal at this end. Points at which foreign competition is being most severely felt are seaports which are estimated to be selling 75 per cent, of imported timbers. This being so it has been held to be reasonable that native timbers should be allowed to compete with the imported article at least on equal terms. Realisation of justice of this principle moved the Government to institute tariff which provided for a duty of 2s )>er 100 ft. on rough sawn timber. Since this tariff was imposed, however, there have been many alterations in the cost of productions and in freight in New Zealand and in competing countries. It is represented to be 'reasonable that some readjustment should be made on a basis of present conditions. Railway freights now are bigger by Is ]>er 100 ft. board measure and this as added to the prices of New Zealand timber railed to seaports is held to warrant an increase in tariff of at least Is per 100 feet since this gives imported timber a big advantage. One of the outstanding factors in the imported timber trade during the last two years has been the rapid increase in popularity of western red cedar. In the 1921 revision of tariff this is stated to have been erroneously classed as furniture wood with the result that it has been coming into the country duty free and been furnishing cheap building timber.