Industrial Development means Prosperity

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 4, 5 August 1932, Page 12

Industrial Development means Prosperity

(Concluded from last week.)

Now take fuel in its widest sense, Le, ¢eoal, oil, ete, The coal industry is declining in production re!tive to population. We have only vund so far a relatively small amount of flow of. Anyone viewing the growth of motor transport and use of oil fuel will realise. that we cannot prudently continue to import at. the necessary rate. Now most geologists are confident that the chances of finding payable flow oil in quantity in New Zealand are at least 66 per cent. in spite of the legend about the country being too broken up. We need, through geological survey, modern methods of prospecting, and thoroughly organised scientific search by competent people. I notice from the Press that certain foreign interests are to commence a search in certain areas in the North Island. Hyven supposing they are unsuccessful, and others also, then we shall be thrown back on production of 40,000,000 gallons | of of oil from coal, and it has been calculated that a production of. 40,000,000 gallons of petrol per year by hydrogeneration of eoal in New Zealand would cost overall Sd: to 9d per gallon, inclusive of all charges, obsolescence, etc. Five thousand miners could be employed steadily. This is, of course, a larger cost per gallon than the present imported price, Other methods for profitable utilisation of the coal might perhaps be suggested. -Next take the electrical industry; so far we have developed but a tithe of the water-power available from rivers

and lakes or from thermal sources, and we have obtained considerable experience in this development, and have carried out widespread reticulations, so that future developments can be carried’ out. at a very considerably less cost per horse-power than the. developments to date. Moreover, such cost of development is’ mainly labour, cement, ete, which are not imported. So far we have used this electricity more or less for domestic purposes. The question is, can we develop electrochemical industries on a big scale to take advantage of cheap power. Unfortunately we haye no fully explored supplies of bauxite, so that we cannot easily develop an aluminium industry. nor have we many other minerals to operate on by present methods, yet. it is not improbable that a careful search will indicate raw materials on which to operate provided we can get the power cost low enough. It is unfortunate that only one-quarter of New. Zealand has yet been subject to systematie geological survey. An interesting case in point is the production of nitrogenous fertilisers. It is true that at the present time

there is a glut of nitrogen products in the world, and these can be bought ‘at less than cost price, yet before de--yelopments can take place. this. condition of affairs is not likely still to continue. Nitrogen is one of the principal factors in more intensive farming, dairying, fruit truck crops, ete., and there is no reason why it should not be produced ‘almost as ‘cheaply here as anywhere else in the world. Moreover, its raw materials are air, which.costs nothing, and coal. Let us take the fruit industry next, this has shown phenomenal increase during the last fifteen years, and now we export one and a half million eases of apples, yielding a revenue of some £700,000. It is probable that within six’ years we could double this export. ‘The conditions of transport (thanks to the enterprise of the Fruit: Board and the shipping companies) have improved enormously, and the standard of knowledge among fruit growers as to production of good products is high and increasing, and a research service is operating. There is no reason why the cost of production should not be as low

in New Zealand as anywhere else in.the world. The question.as to where and whether we,could market the extra a fruit depends on the outcome of the. negotiations of.the nevt six months, Tf we have a _ continued tariff preference from Britain we should be able to replace some of the American importations there. If tariffs on the Continent and in America are lowered, we should find ready markets there. So far our apples have been marketed in almost every country on the Continent, but-only in homeopathic doses... There is reasonable hope . that other small fruits, such as passion fruit, may be transported satisfactorily to ‘London, Moreover, chemists working with suitable equipment would probably _ solve such problems as preservation of fruit juice, , , \ Developments in the canning industry might well-allow expansion of market and small scale. farming, though probably for home consumption only, ¢-y., peas, tomatoes, strawberries, asparagus. Tobacco also offers interesting possibilities, provided technical guidance is good, some experts even hope for exports of tobacco. tg Flax. 8 5

OW take the flax industry. Apart from present operations its successful development will, if accomplished, be one of long range and steadfast purpose. High yielding disease-resisting varieties are available, but they take several years before they can be multiplied up to commercial quantities, The day is at hand when flax must be reent varieties grown for different industrial uses. Where the variety chosen is for.weaving, softer fibre is needed, or where for eordage, 2 stronger fibre, or where for transformation into cellophane, a high yield of cellulose is needed. The latter development may offer interesting -pussibilities. The use of cellophane wraping and rayon for art silk is increasing very rapidly; also for plastics. Wuhereas flax pulp would have difficulty, even under conditions such as I have indicated, in competing. with wood pulp, yet the so-called alpha cellulose content of this pulp, ie, the part suitable for transformation into cellophane, etc., is a far greater proportion in the case of flax than in the case of wood pulp. The future of the flax industry depends on our tenacity of purpose whatever direction of utilisation is contemplated. : Let us take as our next industry grass and clover seed. We export roughly £200,000 worth per annum. We can very easily double this within five years as the work of the Plane Research Station and the seed certification of the Department of Agriculture has showed the superiority of many, of our lines. Many parts of New Zealand are pre-eminently more suited to seed production than the Old Oountry, for example, Wheat, S regards the wheat industry, about which there is so much discussion, undoubtedly the future will see increased yields per acre and less cost of harvesting. .At present there is growing up a contract system whereby. small farmers are provided with the use. of harvesters, which harvest the grain at a cost of 9d. per bushel, whereas under the old method the cost was at least 18d. per bushel,-. This development can mean the extension of wheat-growing to lighter: land. It is true that in the growing of wheat the cost of land is a large item and the elements of risk x

are great. For instance, blight, wind, bad weather at harvesting time, hired "labour, ete., increase the wheatgrowers’ costs and risks of loss. Then there is the tung oil industry. Many companies are at present being floated to establish tung oil trees for production of tung oil. One has amassed a.capital of £100,000. The world demand for tung oil is certainly increasing because it has been found suitable for production of varnishes, using low grade gums. However, out .of the experiences of these companies, during the next five years the: best conditions for growth, ie, soil, climatic, ete., will be ascertained so that the in-’ dustry may uitimately become economic rand by large plantation or as a side ne. ; Dairying. NEXtT we come to the dairy industry. ‘I suppose some three years ago, many‘ would have thought the end of the world had come if they had been told that butter-fat would be down to lid, per ib.,. but as time goes on, it will’ probably be found that. this is quite: 2 payable price, when financial adjustments have been made, such as will;teduce costs of production. There is nO doubt that production can rapidly increase. All the year round dairying has great possibilities in our genial climate. Our greatest competitor is likely to be Australia. Fortunately, the quality of both our cheese and butter is in process of such improvement to suit’ the market that we shall be able to penetrate a great part of the market in the North of Hngland and Scotland in which we have formerly only had a footing. There is little doubt that it-is to our . advantage that costs can be lower here ‘than almost anywhere else and while Britain’s dairy production. will probably increase, yet. there is in British markets ample room for many years to come for our dairy products, provided the present rate of improvement is maintained. There are also, according to’ many, good market possibilities in the Hast. .

Leather and its Derivatives. Bout us take the leather industry and ‘its derivatives. It is not generally realised that fully 75 per cent. of the leather used in New Zealand is produced locally, when account is taken of certain patent. leathers, goat skins, ete., which are...not produced locally. Some.30 per cent. ofthe cost of production consists of tanning materlals which have to be imported. In spite of failures in the past, there does not ‘seem sufficient reason why we should not grow sufficient wattle bark to replace this imported tanning material. If this were done, a new indugtry would be established, the cost of "production of leather: would be brought down accordingly, and there is not the slightest reason why we should not become exporters of certain kinds of leather both to the East and elsewhere. We have at hand the best of raw materials and can operate on them without the disadvantage. of the deterioration occasioned by. storage and transport with which the overseas tanners are obliged to contend. This . should bea naturally indigenous industry, For. some years New Zealand leather was not: considered equal in quality to that imported.: The im- provements made in the last six years have completely removed this prejudice. Closely related to the prosperity of the tanning industry is that of the boot

industry. This industry is following the example of the tanning industry in that its product during the last few years shows great improvement, and in many lines, is superior to that secured from overseas. This improvement is likely to be maintained and inereased and is earnestly to be hoped for, because both the tanning and the boot industries will prosper together. Meat. BH next come to the meat industry and its derivatives, and unfortunately the by-products of this industry have slumped to a great extent during the present world-wide period of under-consumption. The by-products of this industry comprise pelts, wool, meat meals, tallow, etc. Pelts have slumped mainly because America is not buying. The quality of our product is.fast improving, and the future is hopeful. Tallow has lost its value largely because of its variability in composition, and is being rapidly replaced in the manufacture of margarine by standardised products of vegetable origin. Meat meals await more profitable utilisation in the extension of the pig and poultry industries, and it is these latter industries which possess the greatest powers of-quick expansion. There are definite indications that European production of pig products has reached its peak, partly because of the limited. amount of suitable feed. available at a suitable price. Now is undoubtedly the time to go ahead and develop this pig industry.

One might go.on to many other examples, fish, kauri, ete, but’ I have indicated sufficient to show that’ by careful planning and thoughtful progressive experimentation there are many directions in which advances are overdue. It- must be. remembered that one country is able to maintain a higher standard of life than another, only if, and because, human labour in that country is more productive, so that our future comfort and prosperity depends on our developing a true industrial sense. Production is dependent on -the quality of labour itself, which, in turn, if properly organised, is capable both -° utilising effectively the fruits of its own efforts toward further development of those natural advantages with which New Zealand has been so richly endowed, It is true that we must promote exchange of goods with other nations in addition to production for local requirements, but in this exchange we can specialise and increase production of those articles for which we have. natural advantages, for the gains of specialisation and exchange depend not on absolute, but on the relative advantages and disadvantages. The main thing is that we should take broad and long views and de- velop a basically technical ‘and industrial outlook as a basis of sound development.