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a level about five to six times as high as before the war. Considerable competition was felt from U.S.A. matchesTM not only in the normal overseas markets of Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies, but also in the home market in Hong Kong.
The Dockyards.
In the field of shipbuilding and repair work a partial re- covery amounting to 30-40% was made in spite of war damage and the removal of a considerable amount of valuable equip- ment by the Japanese. Raw materials were hard to obtain and labour costs were three to six times as high as before the war. At the end of 1946 there were 5,000-7,000 workers employed in ten dockyards as against 12,000-15,000 before the war. With the return of many vessels to the area after war service there was much more work to be done than the dockyards could handle.
Torch Batteries.
The manufacture of electric batteries gave work before the war to some 2,000-3,000 workers in twenty factories. Ten factories resumed operation during 1945-1946 but at the end of the period under review they were employing only 400-600 workers. Production was restricted to about 20% of pre-war, partly owing to the heavy loss of machinery amounting to 30% and partly to an initial lack of raw materials and particularly of zinc sheets. With wages at 800% of the pre-war scales and cost of production at 400%, markets were hard to obtain and prospects for the industry were not good.
Preserved Ginger.
Before the war there were eleven factories engaged in the manufacture of preserved ginger all of which resumed operation during 1946; but the total number of employees amounted only to 500 as against 3,000 in 1941 and production was far below the pre-war level. Apart from the difficulty of obtaining the raw ginger and sugar required for the indus- try and the very high price which had to be paid for them. the market for this luxury product was limited. The loss of equipment and special utensils was also heavy.
White sugar was supplied from United Kingdom stock with a view to production for export to the United Kingdom, the principal pre-war market. Some difficulty was experienced in bridging the gap of over 50% between the price offered by the Ministry of Food and local production cost, but an agreement which gave the industry a small margin of profit was finally reached in respect of 300 tons of the product.
Canning Industry.
The canning industry before the war enjoyed an estab- lished reputation and its products went largely to overseas
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