EASTERN MARKETS

Taranaki Daily News, 12 May 1934, Page 17 (Supplement)

EASTERN MARKETS

EXPLOITATION BY DOMINION. ) ■ ■ ■ . AN INTERESTING REPORT. ‘ Auckland, May 10.’ ’ The necessity for having direct access 1 to the most important markets in the j East before New Zealand could hope s to extend the present export for her ' goods was pointed out in a- long report to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce J by the exporters’ section committee. 7 The export stated that New Zealand’s . difficulty was that Australia, which ex- ’ ported substantially the same commodities as New Zealand, had direct contact with practically every important j port in the East. Except in the case ; of Japan, all New Zealand’s exports . to that part of the world have to be , transhipped at Sydney, Honolulu, or Vancouver, and in case of shipments destined for most parts of India and Buram, a further transhipment was necessary at Colombo. This resulted in our commodities having to be loaded with transport charges to Sydney or wherever transhipment was effected, and as the East was essentially a price market New Zealand was out of the picture before she started unless she was prepared to accept the same price f.o.b. Sydney as the Australians, or prepared to accept less for her goods to the extent of transport charges to Sydney. There was still a small demand for quality goods in the East, for which a premium is obtainable, but the great bulk of the business offering hinges on price. A suggestion had been made, the report proceeded, that some of the vessels which loaded here for the United Kingdom should go homewards via Singapore, Colombo, and Suez. This seemed the . best suggestion which had been advanced, because such an itinerary would include Java (say, Sourabaya and Batavia), Singapore, Penang, Colombo (tranship here for Indian ports and Rangoon). Port Said (tranship for the Eastern Mediterranean), a port in Italy, Marseilles, and on to London. In one hit it would give New Zealand a direct access to large consuming markets provided the best types of passenger steamers were used. Such a service would be immensely popular with the travelling public. “This is an important factor, because each port called at would be visited continually by large numbers of New Zealanders advertising our goods,” stated the report. “At present a large percentage of homeward-bound passengers proceed via Sydney and Suez, and a much larger proportion would travel by the route advocated because of its greater interest and also because no transhipj meat would be involved. In addition,

passengers would transfer at Singapore I for China and Japan.” I The report was adopted, and it was i decided to forward it to the Associated ‘ Chamber of Commerce.