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This raises an important point as a great deal of the canned products are sold in England and Europe, and although under the International Agree- ment America is barred from selling plates there directly, she is actually doing so indirectly, as all products from Japan, Kamchatka, etc., are packed in American tinplate. Pressure should be brought to bear on buyers and distributors in England to specify that only British plates are used for packing. With regard to the Neft Sindikat, no pressure can be brought to bear. They cannot be brought to task for using Russian tinplate, and the geographical position of America is such that supplies are likely to come from the States rather than from England. The question here hinges on price and credit facilities. It is interesting to note that their programme of extension includes the establishment of depots or installations at Mukden, Dairen, Hankow, Tientsin and Shanghai. If this programme materialises
their tinplate demand will increase beyond the capabilities of the Lisiev Works and they will have to go into the market for their supplies. Apart from pressure as to the source of supply for Soiuzryba, the question is one of credit and credit only. Taking the quality for granted, this organization would pay a higher price for plates to the firm which gives the best credit facilities rather than a low price on a cash basis.
If British manufacturers wish to get this market they must be pre- pared to grant credits, otherwise it will continue in American hands and will become entirely lost to us. Either the Export Credits Scheme must be extended to meet the conditions necessary, or the trade itself must be prepared to insure or finance deals of this nature.
annum.
In Harbin, which is the centre of distribution for Northern Manchuria, the market conditions are quite different from those of Vladivostok. The principal consumer is the Neft Sindikat, using about 7-8,000 cases per Uutil recently these came from British sources, but now only Russian plates made at the Lisvievinsky Works are used, The cans are made up by Vegedeka and Co., a small firm of can makers, lithographers and meat, fruit and vegetable canners, with a specialty in canned chicken and guliash. The cans are made up by hand and soldered on a semi-auto- matic soldering machine. Messrs. Vegedeka themselves use about 1,000 cases per annum and have bought these through the Jardine Engineering Cor- poration or through one of the Chinese hardware merchants, of whom there are some five or six. All these merchants get their supplies from Shanghai, and for purposes of calculation this consumption has been included in the figures for that city. They take between them some 3-4,000 cases, all 20 x 14, 90 and 100 lb. substance.
Messrs. Vegedeka are most anxious to get into touch with some firm in England who will take up their products, and if this could be arranged would guarantee to buy their supplies of tin-plate from British sources.
Both the A.P.C. and Standard Oil Company have depôts in Harbin, but receive their supplies ready canned from their respective installations in Newchang and Dairen. In any case, however, they do not affect the con- sumption as purchases are made direct by their head offices in London and New York, and the figures given for oil companies in the report dated 27th October, 1930 include Manchuria. From the above, therefore, it will be noticed that Northern Manchuria does not offer much induce- ment to tinplate manufacturers, especially as the majority of the plates come from Russian sources.
In Dairen and Newchang there is a certain consumption of tinplate which is used for packing biscuits made by the Chinese, and also for the canning of dyes in powder form for export. This is estimated at about 4-5,000 basis boxes, but comes from merchants in Shanghai.
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APPENDIX B.
THE WOOL TEXTILE INDUSTRY.
TABLE I.
Imports of Wools, Tops, Wool Yarns and Woollen Piece Goods into Japan
from all Sources.
Year.
Wool.
Tops.
Wool Yarns. (a)
Woollen and Worsted Piece Goods. (b)
1913
Ib. 11,517,434
Ib. 9,374,373
lb.
sq. yds.
7,325,533
16,615,066
1914
12,534,880
8,130,938
3,227,768
12,869,140
1915
52,115,387
5,141,167
326,104
4,062,052
1916
40,544,150
5,930,464
887,282
4,152,592
1917
46,695,402
5,721,135
411,530
3,636,780
1918
47,993,954
3,370,658
80,101
5,071,470
1919
50,967,070
4,285,283
161,253
3,648,761
1920
70,567,632
3,783,980
1,625,614
9,954,607
1921
29,887,332
5,472,804
4,608,292
11,273,810
1922
66,919,758
7,833,294
16,040,938
24,046,746
1923
57,314,443
11,178,402
25,975,012
26,331,343
1924
59,038,715
10,699,585
20,845,692
35,513,335
1925
69,585,660
11,366,226 15,477,981
26,192,993
72,471,527
8,479,697 12,247,203
14,762,713
98,447,503
5,919,876 18,266,547
16,716,768
114,774,250
1,701,918
11,569,263
17,355,431
107,087,776
56,851,233
701,560 21,031
7,418,346
10,920,571
3,490,912
3,230,151
1926 1927
1928
1929
1930 (1st half)
(a) Including-Worsted Yarns and mixed yarns of cotton and wool. (b) Including-Velvets and Plushes, Woollen cloths and serges of wool and of wool and cotton.
TABLE II.
Imports into Japan of Tops from Australia and Great Britain.
From
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930 1st half
Australia
Great Britain
lb.
lb.
lb. 4,416,967 3,960,117 1,181,703 4,030,784 2,041,124 519,500
lb.
lb.
431,800
2,500
264,100
18,500
All Countries
8,481,620 5,921,219 1,702,200
701,700
21,010
0 375
E 4
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