DOMINION’S PROSPERITY

Taranaki Daily News, 21 August 1930, Page 12

DOMINION’S PROSPERITY

NO NEED FOR PESSIMISM TRADE WITHIN THE EMPIRE. SUPPORT FOR BRITAIN' URGED. ‘ The opinion that there was no need for | pessimism regarding New Zealand’s future I if the lessons of the past year were learned and the knowledge put _ into practice was expressed by the president of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce (Mr. J. McLeod) at the annual meeting of the Chamber in New Plymouth last night. Mr. McLeod strongly urged the cultivation ofpreference for Empire goods, especially’ those from Britain, the great market for Dominion produce, and a drastic reduction in the importation -of luxury lines from abroad. . “In moving the adopt, iot of the annual report and balance-sheet of Gio chamber for the year ending March last,” said the chairman, "I regret it has not been my good fortune to have held office .during a period of greater national prosperity than was experienced during the period under review. Due to conditions and circumstances be* vond the power of the Dominion to anticipate or to control, there has been a very serious shrinkage in the value of our exports of produce, lower price levels having produced a return of £8,000,000 less than was received during the corresponding period of the previous year. Of, this amount over £5,000,000 was accounted for by the fall in wool. It is true that the* actual fall in production does not aggregate thesS . fig' ures, as considerably larger quantities than in the previous year of wool and dairy produce were held back in New Zealand at the end of March awaiting the opportunity of a more favourable market. Unfortunately for the buoyancy of our national finances concurrent! v with the fall m the value of £8,000,000 in the realisation of our exports, the value of our imports during the same period increased by over '£4,000,000. Thus the visible balance of trade showed us about £12,000,000 worse than for the year ended March, 1929. “While these figures at first glance would seem to justify one in taking a pessimistic view of the position, fortunately the fact is that in the previous year we had an excess of exports over imports tfrf over £12,000,’000, and our actual visible trade deficit for the year under review was only £122,000, less the excess of produce still held in New Zealand for disposal during the current year. How to adjust our overseas trading to secure as speedily as possible a favourable trade balance is the problem with which we are all at present concerned, for fit has to be remembered that if the value of our exports merely balances our imports, we are actually showing a debit of between £7,000,000 and £8,000,000 which has to ' be found to meet our permanent interest bill overseas. In my humble opinion there is no reason to view the future pessimistically if as a nation we assimilate the lessons to be learned from the year’s experience, and put the knowledge into practice. “And these are simple lessons. A drastic reduction in the importation of lines that more or less come within the luxury class, and particularly from those countries where we are practically debarred from establishing credits through sales of our produce, at once suggests itself. The high exchange rates at present operating against importations is no doubt assisting to some extent in this direction at the present time. One hears continually the suggestion that the Government should force the position by the erection of prohibitive tariff walls, but surely importers, if animated by more than lip loyalty for New Zea- ! land in the first place and Great Britain and the Empire in the other, have the remedy almost entirely in their own hands.’ A healthy movement amongst the traders of the Dominion to con.tinually “shop-window” - Dominion and Empire products to the limits of the procurability of such products would assuredly stimulate business in a direction that must gradually but surely improve the position. Dependent as we are almost entirely on Great Britain to purchase our produce, excluded from other value markets by high tariffs, it is surely a paradoxical complex that allows us, to our own injury, to prefer so many of the products of the industries of protected’ countries to those of our best customer, many of whose industries are languishing for the trade ■we and other portions of the Empire could well transfer to them. While it may be true that a lower price level for the products of the Dominion may have, to be accepted for a period, it is equally true that a substantial revival in British industry would promptly be reflected in the consumption of our butter, cheese and meats, and the absorption of our wool and hides into manufactures. We all are somewhat flippantly disposed to put blame on the “salesmanship” of the New Zealand and the British manufacturer, in marketing their goods as compared with their foreign competitors, but even if there is a measure of truth in the allegation, that does not dispose of our responsibility as purchasers, particularly those primarily concerned —the farming community—to make the foreign article a second choice only.”