JAVA AND THE EAST INDIES.

Shannon News, 17 March 1922, Page 4

JAVA AND THE EAST INDIES.

POSSIBLE MARKET FOR NEW ZEALAND GOODS.

Comment has been made by Mr Byron Brown, of Derbyshire’s (N.Z.), Ltd., upon a cable message published in Tho Post as to trade between Australia and Java, and he lias expressed the opinion that the Dutch East Indies offer a very profitable market for New Zealand goods, providing satisfactory communications can be established.

The Dutch East Indies, comprising Java., Sumatra, Celebes Isles, Borneo, and a thousand other islands, forming giant stepping-stones across the Indian Ocean between Australia and Asia, he

said, are more or less thickly populated by Malays, with Europeans directing industries and commerce. There are 40,000,000 people in Java alone, but only 60,000 are whites, mostly Dutch and English. The Burns, Philip and the Dutch K.P.M. Lines run regular steamship services, two or three times a month, from Australia to Dutch East Indies, with many ports of call, Batavia, being the final port. The boats carry full cargoes of Australian flour, oatmeal> pollard, preserved milk, cheese, canned butter, and other milk products.

During his visit to Java, about twen

ty months ago, said Mr Brown, he had

j fi.imd that those goods were of poor j quality, and he had heard expressions of dissatisfaction from the Dutch and English merchants, who, having- hc-ard of the. high quality of New Zealand produce, were inquiring for it. The Dutch had been, and were now, importing daily stock from New Zealand, but the industry was confined to the moun-

tains, and, as yet, was only in its ex

perimental stage. An enormous trade, in his opinion, could be done by New' Zealand with the Dutch East Indios, and the Dutch and English w’ould .welcome trial shipments. Only once had a Java-owned the Iv.P.M. Roggerveen, which brought a full cargo of Java sugar, tea, coffe, cocoa, spices, kapoc,. rattan ware, and many native home-industrial product of artistic value. Java tea was excellent for blending purposes. The full flavour of Java tea, however, was an acquired taste, which w'ould have to be cultivated by New Zealand palates. At present transhipment at Sydney was the bar to economic trading wdth Java, and direct trading wa* the only remedy. When in Java he told the merchants that New Zealand dairy produce was bringing such high prices that fresh markets would not be a temptation, but the day would come when the Dominion would be glad to open up trade. “That day has come,’/ said Mr Brown, ‘‘ and it behoves New' Zealand to exploit this groat market of more than fifty million consumers. Shipping is looking for freights, and trial shipment by enterprising merchants, without soeking any Government' help, would be a profitable experiment, and ' w'ould lead to constant trade at good prices for the Dominion’s at present languishing products.”