Coll 30/80 'Trade: Reports on Persian Gulf Market and trading possibilities' [‎344r] (688/712)

FASTEN Envelope
OPEN by cutting 1
—^ ; .wmmmn JJflB
hiimi n
) \'V A )
z
cn
Confident ial.
[Reference 33317/29].
Overseas Trade Circular,
34
"7 V
A
Department of Overseas Trade }
35, Old Queen Street,
London, S.WA.
30^ May, 1929.
! 9
I have had under consideration the question of improving the present
system oi collecting from abroad and utilizing in the United Kingdom informa
tion regarding the activities of foreign competitors, and in particular the com
pilation of general market reports and the collection of foreign samples and
catalogues, enquiries of this nature having in the past given rise to certain
special difficulties.
2 . The whole subject has been carefully reviewed by a Departmental
Committee appointed to examine and report upon the work of the Foreign
Samples Section of this Department, and to make recommendations concerning
the organisation of the collection of foreign samples. As the result of the
recommendations of this Committee a new standing Committee, to be known as
the Market Investigations Committee, has been set up to supervise and co
ordinate the work involved in market investigations abroad, other than those of a
strictly limited scope.
3. Certain matters to which the first named Committee have drawn atten
tion in their report or about which they have made specific recommendations are
of special interest to the Department’s representatives abroad. These are
indicated in the paragraphs which follow.
4. Experience has shown that the difficulty of obtaining samples, catalogues,
and especially wholesale prices, varies considerably in different countries, and is
particularly great when enquiries of this nature are made in the country of
manufacture. It has also been found that in some countries there is danger of
prejudicing the position of the enquiring officer among the commercial community
and consequently his usefulness to the Department.
5. It is thought that the best method of obviating dangers of this character
is to leave a large measure of discretion to the officer on the spot to decide whether
the enquiries for samples, catalogues and relevant information shall be prose
cuted in a particular market, and if so, how. The possibility of procuring
information varies very greatly from post to post and while it is not desired to
discourage the collection and supply of confidential particulars when these are
obtainable without special difficulty, the officer abroad will in future be definitely
instructed to limit his enquiries whenever he considers that their prosecution
would be likely to provoke objections either from the Government or from the
commercial community.
6 . It is appreciated that requests for wholesale prices are particularly
liable to give rise to the difficulties named. Nevertheless, it has been decided that
in view of the great value to British manufacturers of such information, overseas
officers shall still be asked to give an indication of the wholesale price if this can
be secured without embarrassment on the score of commercial espionage.
7. The system of market investigations now proposed is based upon the
principle that no single section of the Department is in a position to decide upon
the best allocation of effort and expenditure, and that this can be effectively
achieved only by co-operation between the various sections of the Department
which are able to bring special knowledge to bear upon the problem. It is pro
posed, further, to extend this principle to its logical conclusion and to enlist also
the interest and local knowledge of the overseas officer where possible before an
actual plan of campaign is finally adopted. The result of this plan should be the
creation of an annual schedule which can be operated in sections so that the work
will be suitably spread throughout the year.