had been specified in a number of Government
contracts was due to a misunderstanding.
As you no doubt know, the prime cost of cement
is very small compared to the cost of freight and
there is no possibility of getting cement from
works in the U.K. into the Far Eastern market
at anything like a competitive figure.
Actually
the only source from which British cement can be
obtained in Hong Kong at a cost which is in any
way comparable with the cost of Japanese cement of
similar quality is the Green Island Cement Company
of Hong Kong. The works of that Company are
situated in the Colony and its products are, there-
fore, classified as "British" cement, but actually
the raw materials from which it is produced come
almost entirely from foreign countries and I have
even heard that there is some doubt whether its
products would reach the minimum percentage of
Empire content to qualify for preference if they
were shipped to another Colony. The cost to the
Government