TRADE BALANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 18, 23 January 1933, Page 4

TRADE BALANCE.

HIGHEST FOR YEARS. Official trade external returns of exports and imports are not yet available, but there is reason to believe that at the end of last year the Dominion had a credit balance of £14,000.000, the highest it ever had with one exception, says the "Wellington Evening Post." Ordinarily the trade balance is taken into account in adjustment of the exchange rate. It was in the case of Australia, when the exchange rate was put up to 30 per cent, and subsequently reduced to its. present rate of 25 per cent. Australia's imports were becoming unmanageably in excess of exports for years, from 1923, when they were valued at £22,500,000 more than exports. In 1930 they were reduced to £94,730.000, and exports were raised to £114.932,000. giving an excess of exports of £20,000,000. New Zealand, however, 10 1930, was about £2,000,000 to the good. The banks of Australia raised the exchange rate to 30 per cent on January 29, 1931.• As a factor in adjustment of the rates of exchange New Zealand has not been on the wrong side of the external trade ledger for the past six years. The position at the end of last year was approximately as follows:— 12 Months, 1932— £ Exports 37.000,000Imports 23,000,000 Excess exports .... 14,000,000 How well New Zealand has been able to pay for its imports and meet other external charges outside- tlie Dominion, may be learned from perusal of the trade returns. Excess of l'car. Imports. Exports. Exports. £ £ £ 1917 . 20,1(19,205 31,587,547 10,005,282 1918 . 20,234,007 28,516,188 4,282,151 1919 . 30,671,698 53,970,075 23,295,377 1920 . 01,595,828 40,441,940 * 1921 . 42,942,443 .44,828,827 1,886,384 1922 . 35,012,561 42,720,249 7,713,688 1923 . 43,378,493 45,907,165 2,588,672 1924 . 48,527,603 52,612,711 4,085,103 1925 . 52,456,407 55,262,272 2,805,5U5 192(5 . 49,889,503 45,275,575 t 1927 . 44,782,940 48,496,354 3,713,40S 1928 . 44,886,206 06,188,481 11,302,215 1929 . 48,797,977 55,579,003 0,781,080 1930 . 43,025,914 44,940,092 1,914,778 1931 . 24,812,958 35,153,028 10,340,070 1932 . 23,000,000 37,000,000 14,000,000 •Excess imports, 1920, £15,153,882. tExccsjs imports, 1920, £4,613,988. As explained above, the 1932 returns are approximate. The values shown for exports are the declared f.o.b. values in terms of New Zealand currency, while imports are valued on basis of values in the exporting countries plus 10 per cent.