The reason is not far to seek. It] ties In the very heavy impor, duty, Which is charged upon raw materials end partially" manufactured goods coming into the country which are to be used by the factories in the: making of their products. Everything} which goes into the electric fans Imported and bears duly—even to the box in which they are packed for export. Ta the clocks which formed part of the range of goods taken away) everything but the glass face is imported, and taxed. "The wire nails were made of steel drawn wire imported—and taxed one G.U. per 109 kg. computed by the manufacturing represent 15 per cent. Flashlights manufactured in Shanghai bear rice of some $12.95 per dozen. Those the same size and throw of Hongkong make sell for $8 per dozen. second Shanghai type could seli_at $8.50: Hongkong at $6, The differen:
accounted for by the import duty on the raw materials which are used the manufacture of the Shanghat products. Knitted cotton undervess sell retail in Hongkong for 20 cents teach, less than the factory selling! price of 23 cents each in Shanghai, as to increase an already high import tax on raw cotton. Shanghai factories sell socks at $2 per dozen: Hongkong retail stores, sell them at $1.20. Cosmetics could find no market. They could not begin to compete in price with those made elsewhere.
$70,000 Order Lost One of the outstanding examples of rice disparity lay in the feld of fenamelware. It 50 happened, how-fever, that both in Manila and Singapore there was a disposition on the part of importing organizations 10)
ive the Chinese product a trial, pro-Vided the prices could come more nearly into range, and provided new designs and shapes could be supplied.
should be noted that $1,000,000 worth of enamelware is annually imported into Manila, and no less than £0,000,000° worth into Singapore. A Manila firm the largest importing Arm. in the islands, was prepared to place 2n initial order for' $10,000 worth these goods if the price could be adjusted. A British firm in Singapore went to the trouble to tend to Shang: hai a case of samples of the designs and sizes which find s market there. But the business will be lost, at least {or the present.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.