RISE IN IMPORTS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 164, 24 April 1935, Page 7

RISE IN IMPORTS

NEW ZEALAND'S TRADE. FIGURES FOR LAST YEAR. Detailed figures showing New Zealand's overseas trade for the 12 months ended March 31 last reveal an excess of exports over imports valued at £12,409,000 in New Zealand currency. This is the visible commodity balance, the value of specie being left out of account in calculating the total. For the month of March, concerning which preliminary figures have been issued by the Customs Department in Wellington, the value of exports was £3,288,000 in excess of imports, compared with £4,289,000 in the corresponding month last year, and £3,~ 149,000 in 1933. These are the only three months of March capable of direct comparison Under the new official system of issuing the figures in New Zealand currency for both exports and imports. The following table shows the trade figures for March in those years, the value of specie being excluded: —

Exports. Imports. Excess. £ £ £ 1933 ... 5,392,000 2,243,000 3,149,000 1934 ... 0,755,000 2,466,000 4,289,000 1935 ... 6,131,000 2,843,000 3,288,000

A similar comparison for the three months January to March in the last three years is a 3 follows:

Exports. Imports. Excess. £ £ £ 1933 . 13,048,000 6,716,000 6,332,000 1934 . 18,085,000 7,271,000 10,814,000 1935 . 15,660,000 8,499,000 7,161,000

For the 12 months ended March 31 comparison is possible over a longer period, the official statistics giving values in New Zealand currency for the last six years. The results for 1934 -35, .an excess of exports amounting to £12,409,000, is substantially below the corresponding figure, £19,907,000, for 1933-34! The fall is due in part to a reduction in the value of exports, but much more to an increase of more than £6.400,000 in the level of imports. The latest figure closely approximates the result for 1932-33, and is markedly above those for the three preceding years. The table \vhich follows gives the figures for the 12 months ended March 31 in each year shown:—

Exports. Imports. Excess. £ £ £ 1930 • 48,412,000 49,430,000 1,018,000 1931 - 39,527,000 39,833,000 306,000 1932 . 33,943,000 24,761,000 9,182,000 1933 . 37,510,000 25,059,000 12,451,000 1934 . 46,043,000 26,136,000 19,907,000 1935 . 44,918,000 32,509,000 12,409,000-

Returns or the first nine months of the production year, which extends from July to June, show a decrease m export values in comparison with 193334 which is even more marked than in the case of the year ended March 31. A decrease in exports and an increase in imports combine almost equally in producing this .result, though the preponderance is slightly on the side of the import increase. The comparison for the last three years is as follows: July-Mar. Exports. Imports Excess.

£ £ £ 1932-3 27,156,000 19,373,000 7,783,000 1933-4 35,729,000 20,217,000 15,412,000 1934-5 31,505,000 26,024,000 5,481,000

For March the value of specie exported was £19,500, while the imports were worth £230. In the three months ended March 31 the exports were £154,000 and imports £178,000.