TRADE WITH WEST AFRICA

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 81, 30 December 1920, Page 6

TRADE WITH WEST AFRICA

VIEWS OF LAGOS BUSINESS ;MAN.

The possibility of trade beinsf-. established between New Zealand and the British colonies on the /\V est Coast of Africa was emphasised to a Dominion reporter yesterday by a commercial W from Lagos, who is at present -wsitin,, Wellington. He considers that a country so rich in products as New Zealand should pay the greatest attention to the importing o£ raw material direct for manufacture in the Dominion. Uest Africa offers gigantic possibilities tor trade," he said. "It is only m years that British business men ami the Imperial Government have realised the importance of the colonics; and the resources of West Africa are only now being'discovered." • He stares that the four chief products of -West Africa are palm oil, palm kernels. cocoa, and ground nuts, but as_fur as New Zealand is concerned, the first two are not, he thinks, of primary importance. They are used to a large extent in the manufacture of glycerine, high explosives, soap, candles, ex., and to a lesser extent in the manufacture of low-quality margarine. Palni kernels are used in the making of oil-cako for cattle. Before tho war these materials were largely in the hands of German commercial men, and vast quantities were exported annually to Hamburg and other Continental ports, only a small quantity going to England. What would be the best kind of trade wrth New Zealand? asked the interviewer. . ••I think that the process of manufacluring cocoa from the raw product could be very easily dealt "with ill this country," was the reply. "Prices are high, and are likely to remain high, and in the future it' would pay tho country to manufacture the cocoa here. ™ cen , official record shows lliat 1,124.31 31b. of raw material —cocoa beans -weic lmpoiteil to New Zealand during a certnin year, and entered for home consumption. Most of this came from West Africa.