It is the natural purpose of the heavy industries to supply plant and equipment which will render the country independent of foreign imports, so this particular sort of trade, though it may be the best available at present, does not open any long avenue of future commercial relations.
The present industrial programme seems a far cry from the simple formula which was announced early in 1932, Manchoukuo was to supply the raw materials for Japan's needs and a market for the products of Japan's factories. The difference is that the factories are coming here, in increasing numbers. This of course will shorten the haul for the raw materials and for the manufactured goods and, what is of more importance, will place the Japanese manufacturers inside of a protective tariff wall Flour mills, sugar mills, match factories, breweries, cotton, hemp and woolen spinning mills and textile industries whose products are subject to import duties will have difficulty in competing with the increasing new plants within Manchoukuo. Of course Japan's interests are carefully safe-guarded by such laws as that controlling the 21 important industries, that limiting imports and exports, and that controlling all foreign exchange.
There is no suggestion that the increase in the light industries is to interfere with supply of raw materials to Japan, to deprive Japan's manufacturers of this dearly-bought market. The manufacturers, or the and extending their wi k fcr the improvement and the ner ease of live stock.
The Five-Year-Pian includes the production of 2,300,000 horses, 4,200,000 sheep 2744000 cattle and 5257002 hogs. Nearly 22000000 yuan are to be spent in this work, while a production of 192000 tons of hides is called for in addition.
More and better soya bears will not only assist to safeguard the German credits but will ensure that the largest term in Manchoukuo's Customs returns continues to grow as the annual budgets increase. Kaoliang, though barred from the neighbourhood of railway lines and towns, lest its towering foliage shelter bandits or guerilla bands, still figures largely in the programme.
It is in mining however that we see the most spectacular progress. Coal has long ranked as one of the major assets of Manchuria, but the estimated deposits reported in 1929 were less than half of the current estimate and more, new discoveries are, from time to time, noted in the daily press. The Manchuria Coal Mining Ca. (80,000.- 000 yuan) reports 4000 million tons reserves in its Hsinchiu field alone. While the production for 1936 was only 12,000,000 tons for the country, the new plan calls for 25,500,000 tons per annum.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.