TRADE & INDUSTRY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 November 1938, Page 5

TRADE & INDUSTRY

MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION & IMPORTS MINISTER’S REVIEW ROOM FOR INCREASING OUTPUT. ORDERLY PLANNING NEEDED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. “Industrial expansion in New Zealand need not be to the disadvantage of the United Kingdom,” the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon D. G. Sullivan) said in opening the annual conference of the New Zealand Manufacturers Federation yesterday. “We still have to take payment for our exports in imports and shall always have to do so, unless, of course, we leave the proceeds lying in Great Britain as capital, as we did to some extent during the depression. “The expansion in manufacturing activity in New Zealand during recent years was accompanied by-substantial increases in our imports from the Motherland; in fact, imports increased at a much greater pace. For example, manufacturing production reached its lowest level in 1932-33 at £17,700,000. Imports from the United Kingdom similarly touched their low point at £11,200,000 in those years. By 1936-37 imports had grown to £26,700,000 and factory production to £25,200,000, that is, imports'had increased by 125 per cent, whereas factory production had advanced by 50 per cent only. Even if we allow for the rising population, imports went up by 119.2 per cent and factory production by 46.6 per cent.” ANALYSIS OF IMPORTS. The Minister said a close study revealed a very different position from what one would gather, from a cursory look at the total figures for importations for, say, 1935, 1936, and 1937. Importations in 1935 were £36,317,000, in 1936, £44,259,000 and in 1937, £56,161,000. An analysis of the imports showed an interesting situation, the Minister said. In 1936 total importations were £44,259,000. Of this, £14,520,000, or 32.8 per cent, was for materials used in the production of goods manufactured in New Zealand —really raw materials used by manufacturers and others. £2,495,000, or 5.6 per cent, was for fuels and lubricants, which were not produced in New Zealand. £4,515,000, or 10.2 per cent, was for equipment used by producers, such as certain dairy machinery, tractors for farm work, printing machinery, sewing machines, typewriters, and other machines. £6,131,000, or 13,9 per cent, was for transport equipment, such as motor vehicles, railway and tramway equipment, road-making implements, and so on. Finished consumers’ goods amounted to £11,466,000, or 25,9 per cent of the total, and unclassified miscellaneous items amounted to. £5,132,000 or 11.6 per cent. THE FIGURES OF 1937. In 1937 total imports were £56,161,000, and the classification was: — Value p.c. Producers materials £17,773,000 31.6 Fuels and lubricants 2,822,000 5 Producers’ equipment 6,029,000 10.7 Transport equipment 8.026,000 14.3 Finished consumers’ goods 14,591,000 26 Unclassified items .... 6,920,000 12.3 The Minister said that actually at present there was a slight decrease in importations. Importations for the nine months ended Septemberl 30, 1937, were £41,982,000, and for the same period)of 1938 £41,604,000. He realized that there were higher imports in the last quarter of the year. “Nor is there any necessity for an expansion in factory production to be at the expense of increasing farm production,” Mr Sullivan said. “What we want in New Zealand is more farm production, more exports, more imports, and more factory production—more production of all the things we need so that there can be more to consume for everyone. This increased production must not be haphazard, but planned and orderly. Only thus can the standard of living for everyone be raised.”