IMPORTATIONS OF TIMBER

Taranaki Daily News, 3 October 1930, Page 9

IMPORTATIONS OF TIMBER

"IDLE MILLS; BUSY WHARVES.”

KIFECT ON LOCAL EMPLOYMENT.

The plea for a ban on foreign timber has been heard again at Auckland since the arrival of. the • Golden Cloud from Los Angeles with 1,500,000 feet of Orcgon pine and redwood. It is asserted that this one . shipment, will deprive 45 men of,one year's work, Many employers and., employees in the timber industry, view with disapproval tho continued flooding of the. New Zealand markpts with sawn timber of foreign origin, but merchants who are importing, says the Auckland. Star, deck-, re' that they have to carry . stocks of Oregon and redwood because builders demand it and architects show prefernec© for it for certain classes of work. In addition they :argu© that their importations are necessary to keep the prices’ of local timber at a reasonable level. It’was thought that the recent increases in duties on timber from overseas would place a decided check on impoitationa and assist, to revive the timber industry, which has gone from bad to worse in recent years, but it is yet early to judge just what the effect of the revised tariff will be. Then again, some merchants are bound to continue nn-pr’-ting under contracts which do not expire until th© end of the present year. Discussing tho state ,of the timber industry, Mr. E. J. Phelan, secretary of tIK- Auckland Timber Workers’ Union, said the Government was. giving bonuses to v seis arriving with foreign woou# in the shape of a drawback on Customs duties amounting, to something in the vicinity of £75,0G0 a year. That ftas being done to the detriment of local timbel. It took 30 men to produce a million feet of timber locally a year, and thus iv would be seen that the Golden Cloud’s shipment deprived 45 men of 12 months’ employment.’Th© loss to the industry and th© country was ■ quite apart from handling and railway freights. Until the Government woke up amfprohibited the importation of sawn timber so long would machinery in New Zealand’s timber mills lib depreciating. Mr. Phelan said that‘if timber must be imported, and lie frankly admitted that a certain amount was. required, then it should be brought into the couiv try in bulk. If that were done it could be cut to size by New Zealand workmen, and positions would be given to a c-, siderable number who were now walking the streets. The effect of, recent increases in duties on timber .appeared to have been overcome .by foreign governments making cqinpassionaf© allowances to . exporters ,so far as shipping and freights lyer.e concerned, Seejn<r that countries like America an<| Can; ada placed jestrjctipns on New Zealand but’ and other exports, the Dominion would be justified in'placing a ,bjin on their timber entirely. , . •

The other point of view -was-expressed bv a consignee of some of the timber which arrived by the Golden Cloud. He said that all of his shipment was ordered before the extra duty was • recently placed on foreign timber. In the case of redwood many firms had entered, into contracts to take supplies until' the end of the., present year in monthly shipments. Seeing that 'tlio duty had been raised from 7s Od to 9s Od per. 100 ft, when the Redwood Export Company of America camo to look round for orders in tho New Year it' would find, in all pzol ability, that they would not bo so ea<y to find. If it were not for the importation of redwood prices for New Zealand timbers would soar to - such heights that it would not be economic to use it. Totara was in limited supply, and he doubted if sufficient /could be supplied to/ meet the wants oi joineiy .and ‘building trades. In addition, threeiquavtcr redwood was still in competi--1 with local rimu and matai. “We. are linked up with the local timber industry, and would sooner see no importations of foreign timber, but so long as builders 'land architects call for it we have to keep it in stock,” he added. “If the matter were left to , the merchants it is probable that they • would go more in for local timbers and induce builders to use them.” • _ • Another merchant said that the orny reason that importations were made was that New Zealand could not supply :as good timber as the Pacific, coast for the same money. The new duty made Very little difference in ’the case of, Shooks, because if the boxes into which tjty were made' were exported containing* fruit, the original duty was refunded.